Virginia Worstell
Virginia E. Newman (nee Worstell) (1905 - 18 May 1994) was the second wife of Clint Newman. She lived in Pittsburg and had a friendship and relation by marriage, but not a blood relation, with her step-daughter-in-law Ruth Newman.
Early life
Virginia was born in 1905 in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania to Edward H. Worstell from Ohio and Mae D. Worstell from Pennsylvania.
On Friday 1 February 1924 she graduated "with honor" from Allegheny High School.
Career
Virginia was a first-grade teacher at Conroy Education Center [1], which "provides education for children with special needs" for 40 years. (Likely from around 1930 to around 1970.) According to Mary Ann Currie, she retired around 65 (so 1970).
Marrying into the Newman family
At age 44, she married Clint Newman in Pinellas, Florida, on 15 July 1949. At the time her occupation was listed on her marriage license as a "teacher". This was her first marriage.
At the time of her husband's death they lived at 8280 Tanglewood Road, in McCandless, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
He died in 1972.
She was perhaps the only close friend of Ruth Newman, travelling by train across Canada with her, and visiting Mary Ann Currie's "camp" family reunion at least once, and also travelling to Prince Edward Island with Ruth's three daughters and their families in 1991 or 1992.
Michael Currie knew her as "Grandma Ginny" and met her several times. Only once, on the way back from Disneyland, on 8 and 9 August 1993, did he actually visit her home in Pittsburgh, which he remembers as being quite "leafy" from the outside.
Mary Ann Currie remembers her as being "interested, curious" and interested in "travel" to the end of her days.
Relatives and friends
Her brother, Kenneth T. Worstell, died 27 September 1975. He also lived on Tanglewood Drive in McCandless, in Pittsburgh. His wife's name was Gladys, and he had two sons, David L. of Denver, Colorado and Kenneth E. of Champaign, Illinois. Kenneth T. was a retired graphics artist for United States Steel Corporation. He died of cancer in Montefiore Hospital. He worked for U.S. Steel for 27 years before retiring in 1972. He was a veteran of World War II and attended First Unitarian Church, Shadyside.
The widow of Kenneth, Gladys Worstell, on 3 September 1977 proposed to subdivide her property between Tanglewood Road and Vivian Drive. [2]
On 23 February 1987, Gladys' "request for a division of her three-lot property on Tanglewood Road was denied. The lots already create an irregular angle at the end of the road and another division would become a further distortion", according to McCandless Council. [3]
Death
She died in 1994. She is buried with her husband in Mount Royal Cemetery, Glenshaw, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA, Northland Section 22. She shares a headstone with her husband, so her name is given as "Virginia W.", with the "W." signifying her maiden rather than her middle name, which begins with "E", as seen on the name she signed on her marriage license.
Virginia is the eponym of Laura Kenzie's middle name.
Obituary
On Wed. May 18, 1994, Virginia Worstell Newman; beloved wife of the late E. Clinton Newman; aunt of David L. of Denver, CO and Kenneth E. Worstell. Memorial Services will be held on Monday afternoon a 1 o'clock in the Riverview Presbyterian Church, 3505 Perrysville Ave. Constributions may be made to Make A Wish Foundation of W. PA. Suite 212, Box 124, Pgh., PA 15219. Interment [sic] private. Mrs. Newman was a retired First Grade Teacher at Conroy School for 40 years. Arrangements G. S. SIMONS FUNDERAL HOME, INC., 321-6800
— The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
NEWMAN, Virginia Worstell, 87, of McCandless, died May 19. G.S. Simons Funeral Home, North Side (O)
— The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Sources
Ancestry.com. Florida, County Marriage Records, 1823-1982 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. Original data: Marriage Records. Florida Marriages. Various Florida County Courthouses and State Archive, Tallahassee, Florida.
Pittsburgh Press, 3 February 1924, page 39 [4]
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 22 May 1994, page 43
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 22 May 1994, page 44
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 23 May 1994, page 15 (repetition of the previous day)
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/31600726/e_-clinton-newman