Ginger Head Gearheart

1946 - 2024

Ginger Head Gearheart

August 2, 1946 - April 6, 2024

Fort Worth, Texas - Virginia (Ginger) Head Gearheart peacefully passed away on Saturday, April 6, in Fort Worth, Texas surrounded by family. Ginger was gifted with an unbounded heart for all people and left a deposit of herself in every person she met. Her love for others, creativity and love of the arts followed her throughout her life. Ginger's three sons were her greatest joys along with her ten grandchildren.

Ginger was born on August 2, 1946, in Dallas, Texas to Virginia Holland Kauffmann and Dr. Adolph Frederick Kauffmann III. They moved to Galveston, Texas for her father's residency at UT Medical Branch until Ginger was 5 years old when they moved to Fort Worth. She and her two younger sisters, Janet Kauffmann Hardin and Debbie Buster Koelling, grew up in Fort Worth and attended Arlington Heights High School.

Ginger attended both Southern Methodist University (SMU) and The University of Texas, and she was a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority. She graduated from SMU in 1968 with a degree in Fine Arts. She was captivated by cultural and human history, a trait she carried throughout her life and passed on to her children.

In 1969, Ginger married her first husband, Albon O'Neal Head, Jr., and raised their three sons – Albon O'Neal Head, III; Tyler Wilkes Kauffmann Head; and Robert Holland Head. During this time, Ginger stayed connected to the arts through volunteer efforts at the Kimbell Art Museum and the Fort Worth Opera.

Ginger worked for a short time at the Fort Worth Opera in the late 1980's before founding Imagination Celebration Fort Worth in 1989 - a program she developed in collaboration with community leaders and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. Ginger poured her heart and soul into Imagination Celebration and the children it served. With her longtime friend, Dianne Fisher, she also created a special program for deaf and hearing-impaired students that became part of the curriculum for middle and high school deaf students in Texas. Ginger and her dear friend, director and choreographer Debbie Allen, created the Debbie Allen Dance Institute in Texas that held sessions annually in Fort Worth and Dallas for over 10 years. This effort brought ballet and dance to children who would not have had access to it otherwise. She connected Imagination Celebration Fort Worth to NASA working with it on the Mars Millennium Project to bring arts, engineering and exploration opportunities to children in Texas. Ginger also worked with her friend Milbry Polk and the WINGS Worldquest organization in New York City to establish the Art of Exploration program in Fort Worth.

Ginger cherished her international work as well, developing a program based on the Imagination Celebration model in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, resulting in a partnership between artists, teachers, students and institutions in Texas and Monterrey. She also traveled extensively on the continent of Africa visiting with educators and children. Imagination Celebration, under Ginger's leadership, reached over 5,000,000 students with experiences that connect to learning in the arts, sciences, humanities, literacy and technology. It became a model for other Kennedy Center programs and was honored by numerous state and national organizations, as well as by the Department of Education.

Ginger received many honors for her work including the Texas Medal for the Arts; Fort Worth Woman of the Year; the Coming Up Taller Award from the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Services; and most recently the Arts Fort Worth Heart of Gold Award. She was also a member of the National Arts Club in New York City.

Ginger met her beloved second husband, Joseph (Joe) Edward Gearheart in 1989, and they married in 1998. As her partner and husband, Joe worked alongside Ginger building Imagination Celebration through her more than 20 years as Executive Director. Joe has been a constant presence and tremendous blessing in her three sons' and their families' lives.

Ginger's passion and love as an educator, as an adventurer, and as a mother and grandmother left an indelible mark on the lives of all who knew her.

The family would like to thank Ginger's caregivers at One on One Private Care and Colonial Gardens of Fort Worth for the extraordinary love and support they provided during her final years. They are eternally grateful.

Ginger is survived by her husband, Joseph Edward Gearheart; sons Albon O'Neal Head, III and his wife Mary (Molly) Myers Head; Tyler Wilkes Kauffmann Head and his wife Hannah Stinson Head; and Robert Holland Head and his wife Brenna Flowers Head; her sister, Janet Kauffmann Hardin and her husband Ned; her 10 grandchildren; Caitlin Head Markle and family; Micaela Head Roberts and family; Tyler Wilkes Kauffmann Head, Jr; Robert Holland Head, Jr; Lily Clare Head; Michael Edward Head; Sarah Elizabeth Head; Margaret Mary (Meggie) Head; August O'Neal Head and Beatrice Kimbell Head; and her great grandson Bennett Holland Roberts; and nephew Trey Hardin and niece Holland Hardin Fyfe and their families; niece Mindy Brown and Erinn Holmes and their families; nephew Nicholas Conner and his family; half-sister Angelica Kauffmann and many other beloved cousins and family members. The family is expecting a great granddaughter any day.

The visitation will be held at Greenwood Funeral Home on Friday, April 26 from 5:30pm-7:30pm CT. Greenwood Funeral Home is located at 3344 White Settlement Road, Fort Worth, Texas 76107.

The funeral will be held on Saturday, April 27 at 1:00pm CT at All Saints Episcopal Church of Fort Worth in the Chapel at All Saints Episcopal School at 9700 Saints Circle, Fort Worth, Texas 76108, followed by a reception at the school and then a graveside service at Greenwood Memorial Park, 3100 White Settlement Road, Fort Worth, Texas 76107. The Reverend Madeleine Hill of All Saints Episcopal Church will officiate.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Ginger's memory may be made to Arts Fort Worth at https://secure.lglforms.com/form_engine/s/B5wsK3G8ZsyXPta2VW0jLw