Dan McConaughey

Dan Eugene McConaughey, age 96, died peacefully at home at The Falls on January 5, 2025, surrounded by his three children. After 68 years of marriage to his beautiful wife Mary Emma, 17 days were all he could endure without her.

Dan had a passion for his family, the law, and nature. Born in Pataskala, Ohio on July 30, 1928, he adored this close-knit community where he knew everybody. He delivered newspapers on his bicycle, skinny-dipped with his buddies, played baseball with his brother and father (who died when Dan was only eight), and was raised by his loving mother. Dan treasured the kindness and humanity of small-town life.

Dan graduated from Ohio State University in 1946 where he caught Buckeye fever. He served in the Navy as an Officer on the USS Cook during the Korean war. While on leave in the summer of 1955, he met Mary Emma Welch and it was love at first sight. They were married on August 25, 1956 in Marietta, Georgia and were inseparable thereafter. They soon had three children and he cherished family life at home, at their mountain cabin, at the beach, and on many unique vacations.

Dan's second love was the law. A graduate of the Emory University School of Law in 1959, he practiced family law in Decatur, Georgia for 26 years, maintaining an intentionally small practice with just one associate. He cherished serving clients in the Druid Hills, Emory, and CDC communities. He also taught Wills and the Administration of Estates as an adjunct professor at Emory Law School for 11 years. He was the founding president of the Dekalb Bar Association, founding member of the Decatur Estate Planning Council, and the campaign manager for James Mackay's successful run for U.S. Congress. A writer at heart, Dan authored several notable works, including Georgia Divorce Alimony and Child Custody, the reference book for attorneys and judges which he updated for 43 years, finally handing it over at the age of 90.

Dan's third love was nature. Together with his wife Mary Emma, they established the McConaughey Nature Preserve and Historic Site on their 5-acre property in Druid Hills. Over a mile of nature trails wind through a climax forest covered with native wildflowers and a 120-foot cascading waterfall, all permanently protected from development through a land conservation easement. They loved to share the property with friends and nature lovers through activities with the Druid Hills Tour of Homes, the Georgia Conservancy, South Fork Conservancy, and Audubon Society among others. A passionate advocate for environmental conservation, Dan was a founding board member of the Georgia Conservancy and a Trustee of Fernbank Forest. He spent countless hours working on The Falls to create trails and remove invasive plants so the native wildflowers could flourish. This was his playground. When not in Atlanta he was often at "Shangri la," their cabin at Lake Winfield Scott, where he loved to chop wood, build roaring fires, play Hearts, and hike for miles. Inspired by Henry David Thoreau, he wrote about simplifying life and loving nature.

Dan loved his friends from the cabin, French group, environmental groups, and the legal profession, as well as his two sisters-in-law, and was very appreciative of his caregivers. Dan is survived by his three children, Memmi Stubbs, Dan Jr., and Warner (Allison), their 9 grandchildren, Justin (Lauren), Connor (Corie), Sarah, Emilie (Raphael), Camille (Nikolay), Zoe (Claire), Zadie, Wilson, and Lucy, and their seven great-grandchildren Matias, Elena, Liam, Paloma, Louisa, Maxim, and Alina. He was predeceased by his wife Mary Emma McConaughey, his father Warner Wilson McConaughey, his mother Helen Louise McConaughey Bollech, his brother Warner Richard McConaughey, and his stepfather Charles James Bollech.

The family will hold a joint memorial service to celebrate the wonderful lives of Dan and Mary Emma at the Callanwolde Fine Arts Center on May 4th, 2025 at 5:00 pm.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations be made to the South Fork Conservancy or Save Georgia's Hemlocks.