Virginia Lee Norris Anderson, 85, of Beaumont, died Tuesday, April 3, 2012, at Harbor Hospice, Beaumont. Born November 20, 1926, she had been resident of Beaumont since 1958.
Virginia was born and grew up on a farm near Zebulon, Georgia. She was the oldest of six children born to Ruth Hall Norris and William Holloway Norris. She attended Bessie Tift College and Georgia State College for Women where she graduated with a degree in Home Economics.
She met her husband Murray Anderson through a letter he wrote to her after seeing her picture in a Sears Roebuck catalog in 1941. They corresponded for five years throughout Murray’s service in World War II. After the war, Murray came to Georgia to visit her and so began a sixty-four year marriage. They moved to San Antonio where she worked as a home economist for Joskes. There, they became the first married couple to earn simultaneous masters degrees at Trinity University. Another move brought them to Harlingen where she taught at the high school. Their final move was to Beaumont in 1958. She began teaching at Lamar University in 1961 in the Home Economics Department. She taught there thirty-three years. During that time she had many awards and achievements, including the Regent’s Merit Award for Distinguished Teaching. She served for a time as department head. She was designated Certified Family Life Educator Emeritus by the National Council on Family Relations. She developed the certification requirements for family life educators that were adopted as a national standard. Virginia always kept an open door policy for her students. She was a much loved and respected “favorite teacher” by many.
Virginia was a longtime member of St. Andrews Presbyterian Church. She served as teacher, deacon, elder, and president of the Presbyterian Women.
Virginia was greatly loved by her husband, children, and grandchildren. She always counted having a loving family as one of God’s greatest gifts.
Virginia is survived by her husband, Murray Anderson of Beaumont; son, Lynn Anderson and his wife, Joy of Burnet; daughters, Nancy Worthington and her husband, B.J. of Flower Mound and Edie McBride of Pinewood; brothers, George Norris and his wife, Ellen and Bill Norris and his wife, Judy, all of Zebulon, Georgia; sisters, Ruthie Faulds and her husband, Paul, and Rachel McClelland and her husband, Charles, all of Zebulon, Georgia, and Willaminta Hight of Spartanburg, South Carolina; and four grandchildren, Matthew McBride of Las Vegas, Nevada, Stephanie McBride of College Station, Texas, and Steven and Kevin Worthington of Flower Mound, Texas.
She is preceded in death by her parents.
A gathering of her family and friends will begin at 3:00 p.m. with her memorial service to follow at 4:00 p.m., Sunday, April 8, 2012, at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, 1350 North 23rd Street, Beaumont. Her in-nichement will follow at St. Andrews Presbyterian Columbarium, Beaumont, under the direction of Broussard’s, 1605 North Major Drive, Beaumont.
Memorial contributions may be made to St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, 1350 North 23rd Street, Beaumont, Texas 77706 or to Virginia Anderson Presidential Scholarship in Family and Consumer Sciences at Lamar University Foundation, P.O. Box 11500, Beaumont, Texas 77710.
