Virginia Grist Smith

Born in Lynchburg, Virginia, on November 1, 1933, “Ginny” was the daughter of the late Willis Warren Grist, manager of the Paramount, Isis and Trent Theaters and the late Luella Freeh Grist, organist at the Paramount Theater and Centenary United Methodist Church. She was raised in Lynchburg and graduated from E.C. Glass High School, then called Lynchburg High School. She attended Hollins College 1952-1954, and received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College in 1956 in Psychology with a minor in Education. She received a Master of Education degree from Lynchburg College, now University of Lynchburg, with emphasis on Guidance Counseling, in 1970. She taught elementary school in Alexandria, Virginia, and in Lynchburg, at Armstrong Elementary and Linkhorne Elementary, until she retired in 1994. Ginny was a member of the Junior League of Lynchburg. She was also an artist and poet. She loved to draw and write about birds, plants, flowers and animals including her pet dogs. She is survived by her son, William Brice Smith and his wife Jennifer Kornegay Smith, of Arlington, Virginia, and two granddaughters, Carter Kornegay Smith and Clara Virginia Smith. She was preceded in death by her devoted partner of 36 years, Henry “Hank” C. Novak. In lieu of flowers, she requested donations be made to the American Cancer Society, the Alzheimer’s Association, and/or the Lynchburg Humane Society.