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Virginia Paige Obituary
Virginia Lyon Paige
Virginia Lyon Paige, known to her friends as "Ginny", died peacefully at her home in Bethesda, MD on May 2, 2023 at the age of 93. Born to William and Gwendolyn Lyon in New York City, she attended the Brearley School, Shipley in Bryn Mar, PA and obtained a B.A. in French from Smith College in 1951. She attended both Shipley and Smith College on academic scholarships. After Smith, she moved to Washington, DC and worked for the CIA for 10 years. It was in Washington, DC where she met and married Henry Paige in 1957, and had their son Matthew, and daughter Ginger. The family moved to Middlebury, CT in 1969, to Pasadena, CA in 1979 and with a couple of moves in between finally returned to Washington, DC in 1993.
After leaving the CIA, Ginny was a dedicated volunteer with Planned Parenthood, serving as a clinic volunteer and Board Member for the Washington, DC and Pasadena Chapters and very active in the Waterbury, CT Chapter. She was also very active in Smith College Alumni in both Pasadena and Washington, DC. Upon her return to Washington, DC, she was a member of the Chevy Chase Club, the Sulgrave Club and the Woman's National Democratic Club (WNDC) and was active in programs to support environmental awareness and legislation. She enjoyed skiing, bicycling and tennis and was an avid gardener and reader.
She spent her Smith Jr. Year in France which gave her a life-long interest in France, the French language and culture. She took the opportunity to travel the world. She visited Mali, Africa while her daughter Ginger was serving as a Peace Corp volunteer. She also traveled throughout Europe, South Africa, Russia and Asia, visiting China in 1983. She spent part of every summer in Ashfield, MA, in the Paige family home.
Ginny was predeceased by her husband, Henry, who died in 2013 after 56 years of marriage. Ginny is survived by her immediate family, son Mathew Paige and wife Gillian Lobkowicz of Vinalhaven, ME, daughter Ginger Paige of Laramie, WY, her first cousin Lilla Lyon of Peterborough, NH and many cousins in Canada.
A memorial gathering will be held in Washington, DC. The funeral service will be at St. John's Church in Ashfield, MA and there, she will be interred at the family plot.
Contributions may be made to Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington or Smith College.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for Virginia Paige
Linda C Byron
May 1, 2024
We miss Ginny ever so muchHer kindness and gracious good humour lingers as ever in our memory on this one year anniversary of her passing. Au revoir mon doux ami.
Judy Hubbard
July 1, 2023
I was a friend of Ginny´s from the WNDC. I saw her not to long ago so I was shocked & sad to hear of her death in May. My condolences to Ginger & Matthew. It appears I might have missed her memorial service in Washington. Judy Hubbard
Linda Byron
May 28, 2023
I attended Ginny's memorial 27May and was delighted to listen to all her many tributes; from her children, Matt & Ginger & friends from over the years. I didn't know Ginny as long as some of her friends but her friendship was a lovely surprise. She was a compassionate & kind woman who always lead with empathy. She was also an American patriot! She served the government straight out of Smith. She gave her time & intellect to civic causes; a good citizen! She listened well and as I found out through many wide-ranging conversations she also shared a great deal of herself. It's my honour to have called her a friend.
Linda Byron
Ron and Gay Redcay
May 8, 2023
We are missing our dear friend Ginny and send sincere sympathy to Matthew, Gillian, Ginger and Lila. Ron and Gay Redcay
Alice Day
May 7, 2023
Ginny and I got to know each other in the late 1990s when we worked together at the Woman's National Democratic Club on the Environment and Natural Resources Committee. Ginny was very bright and socially engaged. In her 90s, he read two newspapers, listened to the radio avidly, and liked to talk about what was going on in the world. She often saved articles of interest and gave me clippings from the newspapers. We lost track of each other during COVID, but recently had begun to have lunch every two weeks and share thoughts. I will miss these meeting enormously. She brightened and enriched my life. My deepest condolences to her family and friends. Alice Day
Sally H Cooper
May 7, 2023
A privilege to have known Ginny - so sad that the covid era cut short so many WNDC friendships
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