Virginia McEwan

Virginia Thompson McEwan, 78, of New Philadelphia, died Saturday, May 6, 2017 in Park Village Health Care Center at New Philadelphia following a lengthy period of declining health.

The only daughter of the late Paul E. and Ruth (Ivey) Thompson, Virginia was born April 17, 1939 in Statesboro, Georgia.

Virginia was a premier student and leader at Grosse Pointe Memorial High School in Michigan where she graduated in 1957.  She then continued her education and graduated in 1961 from Duke University with a B.A. in Elementary Education and in 1962 from the Katharine Gibbs School in Boston.  In her later years, Virginia completed accounting and bookkeeping courses at Franklin University in Columbus

On December 15, 1962, Virginia married the love of her life, William Talbot McEwan Jr. and together the couple raised two sons, Paul William and Alan Maxwell.  Following their marriage, William’s service in the Navy as well as his professional career led the couple to reside in various cities throughout the country.  They found themselves initially in Norfolk, Virginia where Virginia taught third grade and later in York, Pennsylvania where she taught sixth grade.

Virginia and William would eventually relocate to Columbus, Ohio and Bowling Green, Kentucky where she took a break from a career to focus her time and efforts on raising their young sons.  The family then accepted a transfer to Chicago, Illinois and here she returned to the workforce with the Jewel Company/Osco Drug in the word processing department.

The couple eventually returned to the Columbus area and Virginia joined Marnan, Inc., a decorative pillow business, in downtown Worthington as bookkeeper and marketing manager. Over the next several years, Virginia worked for a variety of small businesses as bookkeeper/accountant.  She would ultimately retire from the Columbus City School District after teaching Level One students learning English as a Second Language.

Virginia led an active social life and was a lifelong member of the P.E.O. Sisterhood, Chapter CU of Worthington, Ohio and was also one of the founding members of the Partners in Gourmet Dinner Group for which she conceived the idea in 1967.

She was a past member of the Worthington Presbyterian Church and a member of the Duke Alumni Association.  Virginia was an avid reader and she enjoyed cooking in her later years.  Most of all, Virginia cherished her grandchildren and keeping in touch with them.

She is survived by her husband of 54 years, William Talbot McEwan Jr.; her sons and daughters-in-law, Paul William McEwan and Elizabeth Stephenson of New Philadelphia and Alan Maxwell McEwan and Karen Schliep of Salt Lake City, Utah; her grandchildren, Monica Ruth Schliep McEwan, William Talbot (Taylor) McEwan III, Robert Alan McEwan, Richard Stephenson McEwan and Kathleen Forbes McEwan and her cousins, Alice Maxwell Scott of New Philadelphia and William Thompson and Roderick Thompson both of Vidalia, Georgia.

In keeping with Virginia’s wishes cremation will take place through the care of Geib’s Tuscarawas Valley Crematory.  A celebration of Virginia’s life will take place on May 26, 2017 from 5 to 8 PM in the Atrium of the Geib Funeral Center at Dover.

Contributions may be made in Virginia’s memory to the P.E.O. Foundation Ohio Scholarship Fund, 3700 Grand Ave., Des Moines, IA, 50312 (In Memory of Virginia McEwan Chapter CU), or to Community Hospice of Tuscarawas County, 716 Commercial Avenue SW, New Philadelphia, OH  44663.