Virginia Lee Underwood

Virginia Lee Hunt Underwood, 91, lately of Chickasha, Oklahoma, more recently of Syracuse, New York, and Kent, Ohio, passed away on December 31, 2014.

Surviving family members are two daughters, Pym Mumford (Jack) and Marian Buda (Lou), of Syracuse; a son, William G. Lange Underwood (Karin), of Kent, Ohio; ten grandchildren and three great-grandchildren; as well as a brother, Franklin Griggs Hunt (Marilyn), of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Born on October 3, 1923, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Virginia grew up in Tulsa and Norman, Oklahoma, and attended The University of Oklahoma before marrying Richard Gwin Underwood on January 29, 1946, in Chicago. She then attended Radcliffe College, earning an MA in English and teaching at the undergraduate level. When, during the McCarthy era of the 1950s, Virginia and her husband refused to sign loyalty oaths and consequently lost their jobs at The University of Oklahoma, the couple moved to Cambridge, England, for a year, where Virginia had their first child. During a long and interesting life together, Valee and Dick lived in Austin, Texas; New Haven, Connecticut; Syracuse, New York; and Cannes, France; before retiring to County Cork, Ireland, and later, Chickasha, Oklahoma. Virginia continued her education at Syracuse University and became an elementary school teacher. Later, in Oklahoma, she worked as an editor at the Economy Company. Valee and Dick indulged their profound love of learning and reading, pursuing a vigorous but private life of the mind. Their shared interests included music of all kinds, notably folk, bluegrass, and classical; nature and the environment; history; politics; and genealogy. They played recorder in a quartet; took their children on uncounted hiking, camping, and bird-watching expeditions; explored the countryside and museums of the United States and Europe; cooked well; made many good friends with whom they kept up long and interesting correspondences; and reveled in their extended families. They attended eagerly Syracuse Symphony Orchestra concerts and plays at Syracuse Stage. Virginia was active in her community as a member of the League of Women Voters; as a keen protester of the ruination of Ram's Gulch near Syracuse; and as an early member of the Friends of Chamber Music. In retirement, Virginia looked after her mother through a very long old age and came to the aid of her children as they produced their own children. She was Oklahoma's representative for an international grammar hotline, giving advice to inquirers near and far on grammar and writing style. She also became a skilled and thorough researcher of genealogy and writer on that subject. Curious, intelligent, deeply kind yet always honest, private but interested in others, with a natural grace and dignity, and with the kind of humor that reflects a balanced sense of proportion, dedicated to family, to learning, and to contributing to a better world, Virginia was an exceptional human being. She was interred in Resthaven Gardens Cemetery in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. A Memorial Service will be held in February in Syracuse, New York. Donations may be made in her name to a charity of the donor's choosing.