Virginia Reed Engbers Mccune

Obituary for Virginia Engbers McCune (1918-2014)

Virginia Reed Engbers McCune died in Ithaca, New York, on September 13, 2014, at the age of 95. Virginia ("Ginny") was born in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York, on December 17, 1918. She was the daughter of John Newton Engbers, a businessman, and Huldah Reed Engbers, a teacher. She was the widow of Homer Wallace McCune.

Virginia's childhood was shaped by a close-knit family, church activities, and an emphasis on education. Although raised in the Hudson Valley, where she graduated from Cornwall-on-Hudson High School in 1936, Virginia's family maintained strong ties with her mother's family in Hornell, NY. Virginia graduated from Alfred University with a B.A. in English in 1940. Determined to avoid becoming a teacher like many on her mother's side, Virginia attended secretarial school and then worked for the National Recreation Association in New York City. During WWII she worked for the United Service Organization (USO) in Portsmouth, where she added greatly to her encyclopedic repertoire of old songs and dances and funny sayings. After the war she moved to Ithaca and worked as an assistant for Dean William Myers of the College of Agriculture at Cornell University. Virginia delighted all in the workplace with her keen interest in others, her joyful attitude towards the tasks at hand and her overall enthusiasm for life.

While working at Cornell, Virginia met her future husband, Homer, a PhD student in chemistry. In 1949 they married and moved to Cincinnati where Homer began work at the Procter & Gamble Co. Virginia worked as a homemaker, raising their three children. Along the way, she developed an extensive wildflower garden, where she delighted in counting the Trillium as they emerged each spring, and became an avid bird watcher. In Wyoming (a suburb of Cincinnati), Virginia developed a network of friends for life, and was a founding member of the ICSC (Iglers Chocolate Soda Club). This lively group of women shared interests in community and the outdoors, often taking canoe trips on local rivers. Virginia was a regular volunteer at the library of the Presbyterian Church of Wyoming, and for three decades she was a dedicated volunteer manager of the bookstore at the Cincinnati Nature Center. She was active in local conservation issues, receiving Wyoming's "Citizen of the Year Award" in 2001.

Springing from their love of nature, Homer and Virginia travelled to many wild places throughout North America. At first, with the whole family, these targeted natural areas within driving range, and later greater distances, most frequently to western mountains and once north of the Arctic Circle. Virginia, who had not camped out overnight previously, began backpacking in her 50's!

In 2005 Homer and Virginia moved to Kendal in Ithaca, New York, where their daughter, Amy, and her family reside.

Throughout their travels, and in her community, Virginia took a real interest in people, frequently embarrassing her kids by "interviewing" people she encountered from all walks of life. She was spontaneous, and not afraid to act in ways that others might see as a bit wacky - she often erupted into song with no provocation. She loved good food, and to tell and hear stories; her grandchildren delighted in "showing her off" to their friends. Her writing was natural and expressive - you could easily hear her voice.

Virginia loved to read fine literature. This became her main occupation in her later years, spiced up by her interactions with people around her and playing games. She enjoyed and excelled at games throughout her life, including basketball, field hockey, croquet, scrabble and her own intuitive style of bridge.

Virginia died peacefully in her sleep. Virginia is survived by her sons John Lincoln McCune (Patty) and Bruce Pettit McCune (Pat), her daughter Amy Reed McCune (David), and four granddaughters: Myrica Muir McCune, Sara Muir McCune, Katharine Reed Winkler, and Virginia Elizabeth Winkler. We will miss Virginia, her spark, and her enthusiasm. A reception celebrating her life will be held 3-5 pm at Kendal of Ithaca, NY on October 25.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Virginia's name to the Cornell Plantations, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology or to the Cincinnati Nature Center.