Virginia Obler Anderson

Virginia Obler Anderson FOLLY BEACH - Virginia Obler Anderson, 78, formerly of Springfield, Massachusetts and Folly Beach, South Carolina, passed away peacefully and surrounded by family on Friday, December 11, 2020 in Lake Oswego, Oregon. A private family ceremony will be held locally. The family anticipates a future return to the east coast for a memorial celebration when travel is appropriate. Born in Elizabeth, NJ, Virginia was the daughter of Georgina Gray Obler and Lt. Colonel Leonard M. Obler (USAF). She was an alumna of Cortland, now SUNY (The State University of New York) Cortland, and received her Master's Degree in education from Springfield College in Springfield, and ABD from UMASS Amherst's Ed.D. program. Virginia is survived by her lifelong friend, partner and husband, James R. Anderson, her brother, (George) Scott Obler, her three children, Scott E., Leonard M. and Kristen G. Anderson, and three grandchildren, Jaime Belden, Tess Belden and Lillian Anderson. James and Virginia met at age 14, becoming sweethearts before their marriage in 1963, and were together for 57 years as a family. Aside from her husband and her family, Virginia's greatest sources of enjoyment were her athletes and students. Virginia was a 1998 inductee to the Women's Hall of Fame by New Agenda - Northeast. She was recognized for her lifelong focus and her storied career in New England as an educator and administrator. Virginia retired in 2008, after rising to be the first full-time woman to sit on the Executive Board of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA), where she was its Associate Executive Director. While with the MIAA, she was honored with the Sherman A. Kinney Award for her contributions to Massachusetts High School Basketball. She was also recognized with Distinguished Service Awards from the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) and the Massachusetts Secondary Schools Athletic Directors Association (MSSADA). Over her 14 years of service with the MIAA and Massachusetts School Administrator's Association (MSAA), Virginia was a fixture of state athletics, organizing and running athletic tournaments across the state. As an administrator, she also broke ground in the Springfield Public Schools' Central Office, re-defining the Director of Women's Athletics role as a co-equal position with the men's position. Virginia began her career of educational service in the late 1960's in New Jersey, then Holyoke, when the family moved to Massachusetts. Later, she began as a teacher at Chestnut Street School in downtown Springfield, and then returned to the school as its Principal. She went on to serve as principal at Wilbraham Middle School before joining the MIAA. A lifelong champion of women's athletics and equal rights, Virginia blazed a trail and set precedence for equal rights for women in the workplace and on the fields and courts. In pursuit of "a future when the issue of equal opportunities for young girls and women is not an issue," she carried that passion inside and outside of the office. At MIAA, Virginia was founder of the girls and women's leadership program and was instrumental in the creation and implementation of its Equity Committee. She was a longstanding member of the P.E.O. Sisterhood, the Philanthropic Educational Organization, an organization supporting education for female students worldwide. A dedicated member of numerous chapters over her career, Virginia also served as President of her chapter while in Springfield. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the P.E.O. STAR Scholarship Fund. (donations.peointernational.org - Chapter AG/MA - Springfield, MA). Visit our guestbook at www.legacy.com/obituaries/ charleston