It wasn't love at first sight when Brenda L. Peel met her future husband, Dan. What impressed the high school counselor about the real estate broker was what she learned in the early days of their courtship about how he treated his mom. "He was good to his mother," Mrs. Peel said, "so I knew he had to be a good person. We got married a short while after we met. He would say, 'Let's get married so we can have some Peels.'" The couple married and had two children. It was the mid-1970s. Atlanta real estate was booming at the time. Mr. Peel decided to strike out on his own. In 1978, Mr. Peel founded Dan Peel Realty Co. off Camp Creek Parkway. In recent years, he worked out of a home office. Despite his failing health, he still tried to conduct business, his wife said.