Margaret 'Peg' Holding Pintler

A private family service is planned for Gardnerville resident and octogenarian swimmer Margaret 'Peg' Holding Pintler, 91, died Jan. 3, 2009, at Merrill Gardens in Gardnerville.

Born in Urbana, Ohio, on April 20, 1917, to Charles and Marjory Holding, Mrs. Pintler grew up in Urbana where her father worked in the family-owned hardware store.

She received her undergraduate degree from Antioch College and later earned a masters in psychology from University of Iowa. Working on her graduate degree in Iowa she met her future husband Herb Pintler and the couple were married in 1944. After Mr. Pintler's return from duty during World War II, the couple moved to Michigan where Mrs. Pintler became head of psychological services at University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.

In 1951 the family moved to Lakeport, Calif., where their second son was born. They eventually settled in Palo Alto, Calif., in 1954 where Mrs. Pintler worked as a school psychologist.

An avid birder, Mrs. Pintler loved nature and appreciated the beauty of Yosemite, Yellowstone and other western national parks and wild places where camping, fishing, hiking, and swimming were favorite family pastimes. During nearly 50 years of marriage the family traveled extensively visiting Africa, Europe, Scandinavia, Central America and so much more.

Mrs. Pintler was an avid bicyclist and an amateur poet, expressing her enjoyment of simple pleasures in verse. Mr. Pintler died in 1993, and in 1996 Mrs. Pintler moved to Carson Valley to be closer to her younger son. She loved the Carson Valley Swim Center where she swam three times a weeks for years, participating in the Senior Olympics there.

She will be remembered by all who knew her as a kind, sensitive, intelligent and practical woman whose life exemplified compassion for others and appreciation for nature.

Mrs. Pintler is survived by sons, Peter of Gainesville, Fla., and Garth (Martha) of Gardnerville; granddaughters Natasha Zavala, Tamsen Pintler, Sage Pintler; grandson Peter Pintler; and four great grandchildren.

Donations may be made to the Wilderness Society. Visit https://donate.wilderness.org/05/donatetws for more information.

FitzHenry's Crematory was in charge of cremation.