Virginia Ross Harvell 1933-2023
It has been quite some time since I have posted on this Millington Stories blog, actually since the beginnings of the COVID-19 pandemic, and in truth I have not felt like writing or posting anything since.
However, Millington recently lost one of the doyennes of our community - Mrs. Virginia Harvell. She and her husband George Jr., have been longtime friends of my family, and they have shown me nothing but support, encouragement, caring and kindness...always.
Some may remember Mrs. Harvell as the secretary at Millington Central High School for many years, or as the wife of longtime Millington Mayor George Harvell, or as a member of the Shelby County School Board representing Millington...but I knew her mostly as a wonderful and cherished role model, advisor and most of all, a loving and beautiful friend.
Although the Harvell family has loomed large as stalwarts of the Millington community, they also are a very private family and have chosen to have a private family memorial service for Mrs. Harvell. However, a few members of St. Anne's Episcopal Church in Millington recently gathered to share memories, celebrate and toast their friend Virginia and what she meant to them, and I was privileged to be invited to be a part of this group.
What follows is an interview printed several years ago in the St. Anne's Episcopal Church newsletter written by my good friend, colleague in journalism and partner in all things related to fundraising for causes we believe in, Kini Kedigh Plumlee. It has been slightly updated to serve as a memorial for a woman we, and many in our community loved, respected and cared for very much. It was Virginia's idea that Kini and I should meet, and as usual, she was not wrong, as we have been great friends since that first meeting nearly a decade ago, now. Reprinted here with Kini's permission...
In Memoriam
Born at Methodist Hospital on February 8, 1933, at the height of the Depression, Marie Virginia Ross Harvell grew up and lived in Midtown Memphis in a big house on South Parkway East, with a big yard in a lovely neighborhood, when “everybody knew everybody.”
Virginia had an older brother, John, and an older sister, Betsy. They were raised in the Catholic Church. Her father died of a heart attack when she was 5-years old, and her mother raised the children on her own.
“We had a wonderful childhood, and my mother gave us everything,” Virginia recalled in a 2018 interview for the church newsletter. “We took lessons: piano, dance, ballroom, English horseback riding, sewing and knitting. But none of it took with me!”
After graduating high school from St. Agnes Academy in 1950 (she was elected to the school’s Hall of Fame in 2004), Virginia started college at the University of Tennessee – Knoxville, where she went for “fun.”
“Women could only aspire to be nurses, secretaries, or hair stylists,” she noted in that interview. “Medicine and those professions were not open to women and I had no ambition other than to have a good time!”
In college, Virginia studied home economics, liberal arts and business education. Of the group of 12 girl friends who started college together, only two graduated. “The rest of us found husbands or became an airline stewardess. That was a golden job then,” she said in 2018.
Virginia met George at UT when she was a freshman and he was a junior. Although she was dating his fraternity brother, it wasn’t long before she was having more fun with George, and then they began dating. After George graduated, he was drafted into the Army where he served during the Korean War. They married in 1954, and 9 months and 3 weeks later, they had their first son, George III. A second son, John Ross, followed in 1959.
Following his 20 months of military service, the Harvell’s moved to Millington in 1958, and George opened a Goodyear store on Highway 51. When the boys were little, Virginia was a Cub Scout Den Mother and always noted that both her sons and her husband were Eagle Scouts.
Virginia began attending St. Anne’s Episcopal Church in 1964. During the Vietnam War, she volunteered for the Red Cross visiting injured soldiers at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Millington. That same year, George campaigned for Mayor of Millington, and with Virginia’s support, he won the election and served the citizens of Millington as City Mayor for the next 20 years.
Virginia began working as a substitute teacher at Millington Elementary School and then the high school in the early 1970’s, and found she really enjoyed it. When they asked her to be the high school secretary, she couldn’t even type! Her interest in education led her to serve on the original Shelby County School Board for two terms. In recalling that time, she said, “I felt like they treated Millington as second class citizens and I spoke to those issues. In retrospect, it didn’t make any difference. But, we did get a new school.”
Virginia saw many changes at St. Anne’s in her 50+ years of attending the church. She served in many capacities – several terms on the Vestry, Chair of the Alter Guild, past president of the ECW, setting up and working many Attic Treasures and plant sales, and serving hundreds of BBQ dinners. When the Episcopal congregation from the Navy base meshed with St. Anne’s, many military families helped grow the church membership and bring stability, and Virginia was always a welcoming figure for all newcomers to the church. She never slowed down, even after a fall which resulted in a broken pelvis and tailbone, in 2018. Virginia was steadfast and always kept the church on its toes.
A strong and independent woman, direct yet gentle in her gracious Southern style, she epitomized the definition of Steel Magnolia. She was kindhearted, considerate, caring, empathetic, frank, honest, bold, straightforward, and stylish - a true doyenne of Millington. She was a decades-long member of the Millington Book Club. Her favorite color was red. Her favorite book was “To Kill a Mocking Bird.” She was voted “Outstanding Spouse of the Year” by the Tennessee Municipal League. And she was a strong supporter of all women, encouraging younger girls in their education and career pursuits.
When she was asked in 2018 to share some words of wisdom, this is what she said: “Don’t ever give your opinion because nobody really cares what you think. Don’t impose your values on others. Everyone you meet knows something you don’t know. I’ve had a good life and a lot of fun, and I hope I’ve contributed something.”
Virginia passed away peacefully at home on July 13, 2023. Along with her husband George Harvell, Jr., Virginia leaves her two sons George III and John, six grandchildren and, as of 2018, nine great-grandchildren.
A private memorial service will be held later for the family. The family has requested that any memorials be sent to a charity of the donor’s choice.
