Virginia Lee Brown

Heaven has gained a gentle soul with a kind heart and a keen mind. She was a woman of quiet courage with the strength and tenacity to endure and overcome adversity. During her long life, she was a devoted daughter, mother, grandmother, cousin, and friend.

Virginia was predeceased by her parents Dixie Lee and Charles Baxter, her younger brother Jerry Stewart, numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins, including cousins Nell Fuson and John Cook with whom she shared very special bonds. She leaves behind her immediate family Kathy, Chris, Janet and Dan Strawn and Wallace Gross; along with other family Bill, Fay, Amy, Marc, Jenn, Anna, and Carolyn Fuson.

Throughout her life Virginia was a cat person and someone who loved mysteries, the Kentucky Derby & Triple Crown horse racing, American history & Colonial Williamsburg, her cherished 1988 Mercury Grand Marquis, and her favorite place on earth, Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

She was born in Harlan Kentucky and moved to Dayton, Ohio when she was in the third grade. As a young girl living in an apartment located on Wayne Avenue near the Oregon District, she loved to go to the movie theaters downtown on Saturdays with her dear friend Bonnie Thompson. Westerns were her favorites.

Virginia attended West Carrollton High School and participated in numerous school activities including the WCHS Girls’ Athletic Association, Women’s Field Hockey team and class plays, as well as serving as a class officer during her junior and senior years. She graduated in 1948.

While capable of pursuing many professions, given the opportunities open to women at the time, Virginia attended Eastern Kentucky University and then transferred to Miami University in Oxford. where she graduated with a degree in Secretarial Science in 1952. During college she joined Delta Sigma Epsilon, a national sorority founded at Miami in 1914.

Over the course of her long working career, she provided support and assistance to a diverse group of talented and accomplished individuals. Upon graduation, she joined NCR as a secretary in Adding Machine Sales and then moved to Public Relations Executive Offices where she provided administrative support to individuals including Kelse Owen, the Vice President.

Later, Virginia began working at the Cox Heart Institute, a research institution established in memory of Gov. James M. Cox located on Southern Boulevard in Kettering. There she provided administrative support for physicians and research professionals including J. William Spickler, Ph.D., Dr. Richard A. DeWall and Ralph W. Stacy, Ph.D.

In 1973, Virginia left Cox to join the Institute for the Development of Educational Activities (IDEA) and the Charles F. Kettering Foundation where she worked for over 25 years. During her tenure, the Foundation’s primary work focused on civic education and engagement and their critical role in a democracy. Over time, she supported several professionals, including: Dr. John Bahner, Dr. Charles L. Willis,

Dr. Samuel G. Sava, Robert J. Kingston, and Dr. Suzanne Morse Moomaw.

The Athenian historian and general Thucydides once said, ”what you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments but what is woven into the lives of others.” Virginia will be missed, but long remembered and cherished by those whose lives she touched.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Dayton Foodbank (56 Armor Place, Dayton, OH 45417; Samaritan’s Purse (PO Box 3000, Boone, NC 28607) or the Tunnel to Towers Foundation (2361 Hylan Blvd, Staten Island, NY 10306).