SKOWHEGAN – Virginia Elizabeth Jordan, 96, passed away peacefully on July 12, 2022. She was born in 1926 in Birmingham, Ala., the daughter of Charlton and Rachael (Wright) Whittle.

Virginia learned to play the violin and piano and played in her high school orchestra. The family relocated to Tucson, Ariz. for Virginia and her sister to attend college at the University of Arizona. Virginia’s rigorous class schedule forced her to give up the violin.

She met her future husband, Edward, while at the University of Arizona. The young man couldn’t read the results of his test because of a blue-green color blindness. She didn’t do well in Colloidal Chemistry, but Edward who hadn’t taken the course got an A. When asked how he did it, Edward said “Virginia takes good notes.” They were married on June 18, 1946. The young couple moved to Philadelphia and Virginia attended the University of Pennsylvania and received her master’s degree.

Virginia worked as a microbiologist at a hospital and a virologist at a children’s hospital while Edward attended medical school. Together they raised four successful sons. Virginia had her hands full but, in 1962, she went back to school for post-graduate education at Colby College and learned computer programming, receiving her Ph.D in Nutrition from the University of Maine in Orono. During that, she went on to become Asst. Professor Human Development at the University of Maine in Orono. During that time, she went to Colorado for a summer to conduct biological research for NASA. She went on to become Asst. Professor of Human Development at the University of Orono. Following that she became a Professor at the University of New Hampshire in Durham. She applied and received Maine’s first license of Dietetic Practice, #D11.

Besides the many positions Virginia held, she also held memberships in societies and associations in biology, nutrition, natural sciences, history and the local Women’s Club. She was active in sports, playing golf, skiing, hiking, fishing, bird hunting and was a ranked tennis player. Virginia was a member of All Saints Episcopal Church.

Virginia is survived by her four sons, Edward, Michael, David and John and their wives; along with eight grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren.

A memorial service is planned for August 12, interment will be private. Arrangements are under the care of direction of Smart and Edwards Funeral Home, http://www.SmartandEdwardsFH.com

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to All Saints Episcopal Church, Skowhegan.

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