Sunday, June 14, 2020
I first met Virginia in 1972 when we were grad students at the University of Kentucky. She had something of a reputation of not suffering fools lightly and as a newbie grad student, I knew I fell into that category. Fortunately, our dissertation directors were were not the same or even in the same area. As is often typical with grad school situations the competition was more about the students than the professors.
I helped Virginia move to Dallas in 1972 where she was teaching at SMU and then later for the Dallas school district. That was not the end of the moving. Every time I turned around she was in some new location. I could never keep track of her adventures. I settled in Austin where I began a 35 year career with the state and began teaching US and Western Civilizations at the local community college.
Soon Virginia was back in Dallas with an appointment to The University of Texas at Arlington. It wasn’t until a visit to Austin that she told me about her newest adventure— she had met Donald and he had proposed. I was stunned because it seem to come out of nowhere. But she was smitten. OMG was she ever smitten. I started hating him before I met him because he was the topic of every conversation.
The wedding in Tulsa was super. Her family was out of this world. The insiders look at Tulsa and its history was enlightening. But it was soon back to the travels and short term appointments until she landed at TCC. They moved and settled there. Donald very quickly secured a position and they were off to the races. Two really sweet and energetic daughters followed. Her love and support for Laura and Jennifer was absolutely unconditional, though Virginia always liked everyone to think she was calling the shots.
Jennifer and Laura moved to the Austin area which brought many visits from Donald and Virginia. We visited often. Every phone call, every visit, every dinner, every aspect of our friendship expanded. Their visits here or mine there were renewal. No matter how much time passed between seeing them, it was like only yesterday.
This past year I tried twice to fly to Tulsa to visit them. I knew Virginia was in declining health and of course I had my own issues. Unfortunately the weather intervened in both cases. I postponed until this year but the current circumstances really quashed that.
I am so glad that I called when I did. We had a brief but genuinely warm conversation. Virginia, I’ll miss you and your smile and your enduring sense of love of your country and and its history. And let me say thanks now for making a a small part of your family. You’ve done well. Donald and Laura and Jennifer are still in good hands. Yours.
