Virginia R. (Barrington) Woodmansee

CHARLESTOWN - Virginia R. (Barrington) Woodmansee, 95, of Charlestown, passed away peacefully on Saturday morning, May 6, 2017. She was the devoted wife of 54 years to the late John E. Woodmansee Jr. She was born in South Kingstown on March 15, 1922 to the late Clarence Leroy Barrington and Ruth Sweet (Edwards) Barrington, and was fourth child from 15 children with nine brothers and five sisters. She is survived by her son, John E. Woodmansee III and his wife, Ruth Woodmansee, of Charlestown. She was the beloved grandmother to three grandchildren, Kristen Woodmansee, John E. Woodmansee IV, and Suzanne Mosesso; and four great-grandchildren, Chloe, Taylor, Matthew, and Giavanna. She was the sister of Marilyn Rice, of Narragansett; and a very special aunt to too many nieces and nephews to list.

Mrs. Woodmansee was a woman before her time. She began assisting nurses after graduating from South Kingstown High School. She then moved to Washington State during World War II, while her husband was stationed in Hawaii and worked for Boeing Aircraft. Mrs. Woodmansee was a bookkeeper at Kenyon Piece Dye and owned and operated the Village Nursery School in Carolina for 10 years until the birth of her granddaughter. She also worked at the United States Post Office, a flower shop, was a contributing small column writer for the Westerly Sun, and, along with her husband, owned a farm for more than 10 years.

Virginia was a resident of Charlestown for more than 70 years; she was a former chairperson on the Board of Canvases for the town.

She was a woman of strong faith who loved life. From the 1950s through the 1990s, she was an avid member and Deacon's wife of the Carolina Free Baptist Church, where she led the children's summer Bible school, hosted Bible study groups, and was active in other various church activities. Later, she was a member of the Liberty Baptist Church in Exeter. Virginia was a sister of the Carolyn Rebekah Lodge, where she served as Treasurer for many years.

With the utmost love and dedication to her family and friends, she took great pride in her home where she enjoyed cooking, entertaining, gardening, sewing, painting, playing cards, and cheering on the Boston Red Sox. She had owned her own ceramic business and taught ceramics and also enjoyed shopping, traveling, and spending time with her family and friends. Thank you for the rainbow, Gram.

A funeral service will take place on Wednesday, May 10 at 10 a.m. at Rushlow-Iacoi Funeral Home & Crematory, 64 Friendship St., Westerly. Burial will take place at White Brook Cemetery, Richmond. Calling hours will take place at the funeral home on Tuesday, May 9 from 5 to 7 p.m., and Wednesday from 9 to 10 a.m., followed by the service. For online condolences, please go to www.rushlowiacoifuneralhome.com.