Virginia Davis Jefferson

Virginia Davis Jefferson

Mrs. Virginia Davis Jefferson peacefully entered into eternal rest on the morning of June 4, 2024, at the Westminster Canterbury retirement community in Lynchburg, Virginia. Mrs. Jefferson was born on August 14, 1912, during the Great Depression in the Forest District of Bedford County, Virginia, during the presidency of William Howard Taft. She was born the fifth of nine children (Oneatha, William, Harrison, Houston, Virginia, Elsie, Augusta, Jasper, and Lessie) to Alonza Davis and Otelia Craighead Davis; she was the last surviving sibling of that union.

She grew up on a farm and participated in farm duties such as milking cows and gardening from an early age. At age 17, she began working as a homemaker for the Murrell family on Rivermont Avenue in Lynchburg. At age 21, she worked as a live-in homemaker for the Gleason family on Perrowville Road in Forest, Virginia. Despite coming from humble beginnings during a time when African Americans were afforded limited formal educational opportunities, she made every effort to remain a lifelong learner.

On April 22, 1938, Virginia married her late husband, Malcolm Murrell Jefferson from Bedford County, Virginia. During their 70 years of marriage, Virginia and Malcolm welcomed two children, the late Langhorne Jefferson Anderson and her stillborn twin brother. She also reared her nephew, William Wooten, after the death of his mother, Augusta. Virginia and Malcolm Jefferson lived for five years at the Boonsboro Country Club where they were both employed and later moved to Forest, Virginia. At the Boonsboro Country Club, her husband served as manager while she worked as a cook and baker. Several of her special recipes were published in local cookbooks. In 1953, the family moved to 1214 Floyd Street in Lynchburg, Virginia, where Virginia remained until the age of 106. In February 2019, she moved from Floyd Street to the Westminster Canterbury retirement community.

Virginia's extensive life span as a supercentenarian comprised almost 112 years. She was registered and validated by both the LongeviQuest and the Gerontology Research Group (GRG) publications as the oldest living Virginian dated August 14, 2023. Virginia was a cook, pastry maker, and seamstress who made all of her daughter's clothing as well as attire for other women and children in the community. She taught herself to play the piano, loved to dance, and sang in her church choir at Altha Grove Baptist Church where she had attended since childhood. She also achieved other accomplishments such as learning to play golf and billiards. Virginia surrendered her driver's license at the age of 106 because she decided that she was "too old to drive." Historically, she survived two World Wars, Jim Crow, the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and President John F. Kennedy, the 2001 terror attacks, the presidencies of 20 U.S. Presidents from William Howard Taft to Joseph R. Biden, Jr., and two pandemics including the Spanish Flu and COVID-19.

According to her nephew, Gilliam Cobbs, who lived with her from 1945 to 1955, Virginia was "the most caring, generous, helpful and concerned person you would ever meet and expressed love and compassion to all of her family, friends, and acquaintances. She was witty and remained an avid reader who loved to solve crossword puzzles. She would always say, "An idle mind is the devil's workshop." According to Virginia, she did not know what her secret was to such longevity but attributed much of it to her hardworking demeanor and her belief in God. Her best advice was "to work hard, get an education, and above all else, treat people right."

Virginia is survived by a host of family members including two nieces, Shirley Shepperson and Rebecca Hazel Randall; a devoted nephew, Gilliam Cobbs; two especially devoted great nieces, Lisa Hamlette and Cynthia Steward; and other family members and friends who will miss her dearly. May she rest in peace as one of God's good and faithful servants. Virginia Jefferson will remain in our hearts forever.

The family would like to express our sincere appreciation to the nursing staff at Westminster Canterbury along with other staff members and residents, many of whom were dear friends. We would also like to acknowledge Dr. Cure and his nursing staff for the loving and compassionate care they provided to Virginia.

A Celebration of her life will be held 2 p.m. on Monday, June 10, 2024 at Altha Grove Baptist Church, Forest. Interment will be in the church cemetery. Her remains will be open to the public one hour prior to the service. Family and friends will assemble at the church. Condolences may be emailed to comfuneral@aol.com.

Community Funeral Home