Virginia Ann White

Virginia Ann White was born in Warrenton, Virginia on January 30, 1937, to the late Oscar W. White and Julia Nelson White. She departed this life on Wednesday, April 10, 2024.

Virginia, along with her brother and many of her peers, received early Christian training in “Miss Mary Fanny’s” Sunday School at First Baptist Church in Warrenton. She was baptized there in 1952 and remained a life-long member.

After graduating from William C. Taylor High School in Warrenton, she received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Hampton Institute, Hampton, Virginia. Following graduation from Hampton, she returned to Taylor High School for a brief period as a chemistry and science teacher. Virginia spent the remainder of her professional career working as a chemist in several Federal Government agencies including The National Institutes of Health, The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), and The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

At the NMFS, Virginia was a member of the team that developed testing standards limiting the amount of mercury and other metal contaminants in fishery products marketed to consumers. As part of that effort, she visited federal and state laboratories across the country to help implement testing procedures for the identification and regulation of those contaminants. At the CPSC, she was senior project manager in The Chemical Hazards Program, responsible for developing regulations for the labeling and safe packaging of hazardous household chemical products, including child-resistant safety packaging.

Beginning in the 1990s, Virginia divided her time between DC and Warrenton while helping to care for her aging mother and aunts. Following Reverend Penn’s (First Baptist Church) death, she also assisted Mrs. Penn. She served as co-trustee of several charitable trusts established by Mrs. Penn, including two scholarship trusts – one established for the youth of First Baptist. In 2010, she moved permanently back to Warrenton where she continued to enjoy her family, her friends, and her church. Virginia enjoyed working in the church and was always ready to volunteer wherever needed. She was a member of the Library Committee, the Altar Guild, the Budget Committee, and loved working with the Kitchen Krew. She helped sponsor the annual Holiday Bazaar which was a popular event at First Baptist, and featured her famous sweet pickles.

Virginia’s brother, Oscar, Jr. preceded her in death. She is survived by her niece, Monique; three nephews:  Oscar III, Whitfield, and Oakland; a devoted cousin, Earlene Morgan; and many other close relatives and friends.

Family will received friends on Friday, April 19, 2024, from 11 am until 12 pm with funeral services beginning at 12 pm at First Baptist Church, 39 Alexandria Pike, Warrenton, VA, 20186.  Interment will follow at Warrenton Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Hospice of Piedmont at https://hopva.org/

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