Mary Virginia Chilton

1922 - 2013

Mary Virginia Watson Chilton, 90, a retired executive secretary and computer software administrator, passed away Wednesday morning, Oct. 16, 2013, at an Arlington hospital. Funeral: 10 a.m. Saturday in Moore Funeral Home Chapel, 1219 N. Davis Drive, Arlington. Private entombment: Moore Memorial Gardens. Visitation: for family and friends will be 5 to 7 p.m. Friday at Moore Funeral Home. Mary Virginia was born Nov. 10, 1922, in Dallas to Roscoe and Leona Barrett Watson. She graduated from Sunset High School in Dallas and attended North Texas Agricultural College, now the University of Texas at Arlington, where she reported that her favorite subjects were pingpong and dancing. Virginia married fellow student and Dallas native Richard Chilton on Feb. 20, 1943. They resided in various locations in support of Col. Chilton's Air Force career, but settled in Arlington in September 1954 with their 9-month-old daughter, Caron. Son Craig joined the family in November 1960. As a young adult, Virginia worked in a variety of administrative positions for various companies over the years, but then settled in as a homemaker and stay-at-home mom. She was active in the Arlington Woman's Club and PTA, and was the first PTA president at Wimbish Elementary in Arlington where Caron was a fifth-grader. Following a divorce, she re-entered the workforce in her 40s. She worked as a secretary at LTV for many years and then transitioned to an administrative career in the computer software industry, working for University Computing, New Trends and finally Computer Associates. She worked until she was 71, and only retired at that time when her position with CA was eliminated. Virginia was a very social person and loved spending time with her friends over the years. She started playing duplicate bridge in the mid-1990s and persuaded Caron to give the game a try, too. They played together for many years and enjoyed traveling to points far and wide to enjoy the game they mutually loved. Virginia was a Bronze Life Master and continued to play actively at the Arlington Duplicate Bridge Club and online until her hospitalization last month. She loved to shop and had a wonderful sense of style and taste. Age and health issues did not diminish her love of fashion and the quest to always shop for something new, and when she was behind her candy apple red walker, it was hard to keep up with her at the mall. Virginia and Richard remarried later in life, and he predeceased her in 2007. Survivors: Virginia was dearly loved and will be greatly missed by her daughter, Caron; her son, Craig; her other "special daughters," Beckie Bradford, Karen Caton and Stephani Baggese; and a host of special friends.