Virginia Bledsoe Davis Young

Virginia Bledsoe Davis Young was born in Cape Girardeau, Missouri on June 5th, 1946, to Jackson and Virginia Bledsoe Davis of Sikeston, Missouri. She passed away peacefully in her sleep on July 30th, 2023.

She grew up and was educated in Sikeston, graduating from Sikeston High School in 1964. She went on to attend and graduate from Mount Vernon College in Washington DC. After making Northern Virginia her home, she continued to be an active alumna for many years. Her service to Mount Vernon College (1972-1996) included Chairman of the Mount Vernon College Annual Giving Campaign and President of the Mount Vernon College Alumnae Association. She was also a member of the Mount Vernon College Board of Trustees. She went on to serve as chair of the Council for the Mount Vernon Campus of George Washington University when Mount Vernon became a part of George Washington University in 1999.

For this work, Virginia received the Mount Vernon College Distinguished Alumna Award in 1995 and the Elizabeth J. Somers Award in 1998 in honor of her “vision, integrity and selfless service to the cause of women’s education”.

Virginia was a member of the Junior League of Washington serving as both secretary to and member of the Board of Directors. Virginia also served on boards and committees of many organizations including The National Symphony Orchestra, The Potomac School in Mclean, Virginia, Hospice of Northern Virginia, and St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Arlington.

In 2001, Virginia became only the second woman to serve on the Board of Trustees of the Virginia Military Institute Foundation following the Virginia Military Institute’s admission of women in 1997. In this role, she continued her service to women and education.

Virginia led her family’s agricultural business, Jackson Davis & Company, in Southeast Missouri until 2000. She also served on the Board of Directors and as chair of the Board of Farmer’s State Bank in Risco and Parma, Missouri.

Throughout her life, she volunteered, served, and advocated for women and their access to educational opportunities. Virginia believed in the value of independent education, enjoying her involvement with those communities she helped build and support. The range and variety of roles Virginia accepted over many years of service supported her commitment to what she believed in most.

Virginia married Reynolds Young in 1966 and was the mother of Virginia Young Newton-Newhouse (Brian Newhouse) of Potomac, Maryland. Virginia loved her two granddaughters, Katherine Reynolds Newton, a 4th year student at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia, and Halbrook Frances Newton, a sophomore at the Bullis School in Potomac, Maryland.

A memorial service will be held on August 22, 2023, at 11:00am at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, 2609 North Glebe Road, Arlington VA. A reception will follow at the Washington Golf and Country Club, 3017 North Glebe Road, Arlington.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a contribution to the Alzheimer’s Association at https://www.alz.org/?form=alz_donate or to St. Mary’s Episcopal Church at https://www.stmarysarlington.org/ways-to-give. Virginia would be so pleased!