Susan McConnell and her brother, James H. T. McConnell Jr., presented the Noel Laing trophy at the 2015 Montpelier Hunt Races. (Douglas Lees photo)
A memorial service for Susan duPont McConnell, a longtime devoted supporter of the Montpelier Hunt Races, will be held at Christ Episcopal Church in Charlottesville, Va., at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, April 24.
Ms. McConnell died peacefully with family at her side on Wednesday, March 20, after a battle with ovarian cancer. She was 68.
Born in Wilmington, Del., she was the daughter of J. H. Tyler McConnell and Jean Ellen duPont Shehan. She graduated from Foxcroft School in Middleburg, Va., and the University of Virginia Curry School of Education, where she was a member of the first graduating class of women in 1972.
She was the chairman of the Foxcroft School’s board of directors and on the original property council for Montpelier, where she was instrumental in getting the property available to the public. She also was a longtime member and vice-chair of the University of Virginia Cancer Center Advisory Board.
In addition to her support for the Montpelier Hunt Races, she was deeply involved in promoting the Connemara pony. She bred her own herd of Connemara ponies at Oakfields Farm in Free Union, Va., and served as president of the American Connemara Pony Society.
A devoted mother and grandmother, she is survived by her two daughters, Stephanie Rinehart Keen (husband Kevin) and Caroline Rinehart Cardais (husband Zach); four grandchildren: Lyndsey Keen, Brandon Keen, Tyler Cardais, and Hayes Cardais; her sister, Marion McConnell Lassen (husband Kai); and her brother, James H. T. McConnell Jr.
The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory be made either to the UVA Cancer Center (for research on ovarian cancer and clinical trials) at UVA Health Foundation, P.O. Box 800773, Charlottesville, VA 22908 http://get-involved.uvahealth.com/goto/SusanMcConnell or to Foxcroft School at 22407 Foxhound Lane, Middleburg, Va. 20117.