The Life of Virginia Gordon Hearn Whiting

   

    Virginia “Ginny” Gordon Hearn Whiting, 94, formerly of Mobile, died Dec. 13, 2018 in her hometown of Fredericksburg, Virginia.  It was her wish to be buried in Mobile next to her late daughter, Virginia “Gindy” Lee Whiting McConnell (1952-1970).

    Mrs. Whiting, who spent three decades in Mobile, first came to the city in 1946 with her new-husband, Dr. James A. Whiting Sr., whom she had met and married while at the University of Virginia. The couple returned permanently to Mobile in 1955 after Dr. Whiting completed his surgical residency and military training. Virginia, who had attended the school of nursing at UVA, set up her husband’s medical practice on Government Street and worked with him for several years.

      Following the couple’s divorce in the early 1960s, Mrs. Whiting worked as a medical assistant and office manager of two specialty medical practices in Mobile. In her spare time, she earned a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s degree in counseling from the University of South Alabama, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. She was elected president of the Alabama Chapter of the American Association of Medical Assistants, serving as a member of the AAMA’s certifying board. She was later named Medical Assistant of the Year for the state of Alabama. 

      A mother of five, Mrs. Whiting volunteered as a Brownie and Girl Scout leader and room mother at Woodcock Elementary School. She also was a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church and the Mobile Medical Auxiliary. Virginia, who spent her teen years as a Big Band pianist and church accompanist, would gather her children around the family piano to sing Broadway classics.

     Later in life, she was known for her “Grandmama Trips,” which she planned in great detail for a series of young grandchildren, and which took them from the Grand Canyon to Mackinac Island and the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  At age 74, she canoed down the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe, dodging hippos, and went on safari in Namibia with her daughter, Sharri. She traveled to Spain and Hawaii with her son, Chuck, and to Italy with her son, Jon. She was a member of The Colonial Dames of America.

      After completing her nursing degree at Creighton University in the early 1980s, she moved to Texas to become a charge nurse in the Detoxification Unit of La Hacienda Alcohol and Drug Treatment Center in Hunt and psychiatric unit manager and group psychotherapist at the VA hospital in Kerrville. She returned to her hometown of Fredericksburg, Virginia, in 1986 to become a professor of Nursing at Germanna College, where she was named Professor of the Year. She also worked part time as a nurse for a local community mental health hospital. She added to her education by obtaining graduate certificates in Geriatrics and Non-profit Management at Virginia Commonwealth University, along with doctoral coursework at Nova University. She was named an Outstanding Alumna of Averett University in Danville, Virginia, from which she received an associate degree in 1943.

      Following her retirement from teaching at age 72, Mrs. Whiting joined the Mental Health Association of Fredericksburg as Program Director of the Senior Visitors Program, which she developed from concept to reality. She received the association’s Community Service Award in 2000. She retired for the second time in 2005 at age 82 and spent her time traveling, quilting and avidly reading history. She began learning about gourmet cooking at age 92 and started writing a blog at age 94 called Ninety Speed Bump about the adventures and possibilities of senior citizens (www.ninetyspeedbump.blogspot.com).

     Virginia Gordon Hearn Whiting was the oldest daughter of the late John Thomas Hearn Sr. and Nellie Armstrong Hearn Gouldman of Fredericksburg. She is survived by four children, Sharrilyn Whiting (Piero De Masi) of Umbria, Italy,and Fairhope, Alabama; James Allen Whiting Jr. (Tamara Marshall) of Nashville, Tennessee; Charles “Chuck” Hearn Whiting of Nashville, and Jon Michael Whiting (Cassie Douglas) of Fredericksburg. She is pre-deceased by her daughter, Virginia “Gindy” Lee Whiting McConnell. She leaves five grandchildren and five great-granddaughters, as well as two brothers, Dr. John Thomas Hearn Jr. of Harrisonburg, Virginia, and James Batson Hearn, of Colonial Beach, Virginia. She was the beloved aunt of many nieces and nephews.

     Family members celebrated Mrs. Whiting’s life with a graveside service at Pine Crest Cemetery in Mobile on Sept. 1, 2019.