Virginia E. Tolliver, 83, died March 15, 2010 at her home.
A native Chapel Hillian and lifelong member of St. Joseph’s CME Church, she was born Feb. 14, 1927, the daughter of Walter C. and Augusta G. Edwards. Virginia was the widow of William P. Tolliver. She was a graduate of Lincoln High School and Shaw University with a B.A. in elementary education.
Virginia’s life was dedicated to the development of young children and the betterment of her community. In the early 1950s, she taught at local day-care centers, including Holmes Day Care and Victory Village. In the mid-‘50s, when there were no public kindergartens in North Carolina, Chapel Hill mothers, with the help of grant money from a Chicago foundation and rent-free space from Chapel Hill Community Co-Operative Preschool with 24 children, 12 black and 12 white. Virginia was the school’s director.
In the 1960s, she taught classes in child care at Durham Technical Institute and consulted at Frank Porter Graham Elementary School. In 1965, Virginia led the organizing of the Social Interest Civic Group, a group of local women who had a vision of performing charitable acts in the community and fostering cultural and educational opportunities for the people of Chapel Hill. The group remains active, last year giving scholarships to four high school seniors.
In the late ‘70s, Virginia became involved in the PTA Thrift Shop and when the Carrboro store opened in 1978, she was the assistant manager. Virginia was predeceased by sisters Irene Jackson and Lucille Brooks and brother Charles Edwards. Surviving are daughter Robbyn and her husband, Stephen Baines; grandchildren Wynter and Donovan Tolliver; great-grandson Thailand; and her brother Henry Edwards (Pearl).
A funeral will be at 1.30 p.m. Saturday at St. Joseph’s CME Church, with visitation from 1 to 1.30 p.m. at the church. Burial will be at Chapel Hill Memorial Cemetery. Arrangements are by Knotts Funeral Home.