Virginia Furtwangler

Virginia W. Furtwangler, a prize-winning author, inspiring teacher, devoted mother, and delightful companion, died on January 1, 2024, at the age of 91. She came to Salem in 1996 as the first Hallie Ford Professor of English at Willamette University, a high point in a life of dramatic changes and reinventions.

Ginny was born in Hartford, Connecticut to William and Agnes Walsh, grew up in Waterbury, and attended Catholic schools there. Her father died when she was 13, and she made it through her teens with the support of her resilient mother and brother, Walsh relatives, and close neighbors.

She was active and popular at the College of New Rochelle, a Catholic women’s college in New York, and was elected president of her class and later of the entire student body. She was by turns a popular, diligent student and an independent spirit. A cadet once escorted her to a dance at nearby West Point—and a dean later scolded her for leading a conga line at a dance back on her own campus. She wrote the musical score for a student show. She led classmates down Fifth Avenue on Saint Patrick’s Day in 1954 and was stopped for a brief TV interview. The announcer boldly kissed her as a “pretty Irish colleen” and asked what her plans were after graduation. She replied that she was committed to enter the Ursuline religious order, which she did that July.

As Sister John Bernard (names of two admired saints) she completed an M.A. in English at Catholic University, then taught in Ursuline high schools in Maryland and the Bronx and in college back at New Rochelle. In 1966 she was directed to start graduate work in English literature at Cornell University; with the support of a national Kent Fellowship she completed her Ph.D. in 1970.

She left the Ursuline order in 1967. Later that year she began study sessions with Albert Furtwangler, a fellow graduate student. They struck up a playful conversation that would continue and deepen for over 56 years. They married when he finished his degree, and moved together to Chicago and then to the small college town of Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada, as Al pursued his teaching career. In Sackville, Ginny and Al raised two sons and built a community of friends that endures to this day. A devoted mother, Ginny searched out special instruction and opportunities for each of her sons.

Meanwhile, she taught extension courses and began to write short stories under the pen name Ann Copeland. She eventually published six collections of stories. The Golden Thread was a finalist for the Governor-General’s Award, Canada’s top literary prize, in 1989. She also wrote The ABCs of Writing Fiction. Her books led to short-term appointments as a teacher and writer-in-residence at colleges across Canada and the US, notably at the University of Idaho, Linfield College, and the Portland State summer program in Cannon Beach.

Ginny also sustained a lifelong love of music. She led choirs in her convent years, later studied organ and jazz improvisation, served as church organist in Sackville, and played four-hand piano with partners in both Sackville and Salem. In recent years, she hosted Monday practice sessions with fellow musicians, and she and Al opened their house to neighbors who came to listen. She and Al attended concerts and opera series in Salem, Portland, Seattle, New York, and Santa Fe. They also took social dance lessons and in the Sackville years brought the boys to an annual dance camp.

Through shared interests, good conversation, music, and her fondness for hosting gatherings, Ginny built close friendships in every season of her long, rich, and multifaceted life. And with friends far afield, Ginny always kept in touch. She corresponded, she called, she looked people up on her travels. And many an old classmate, neighbor, student, and colleague reciprocated, coming long distances to visit and catch up. At their 60th class reunion this year, students from 1959 remembered her as a teacher who changed their lives—and wrote to tell her so.

Survivors include her husband Albert, sons Tom and Andrew, and granddaughter Claire.

A Mass of Christian Hope is scheduled for Saturday, February 17 at 10:30 at Queen of Peace Catholic Church, 4227 Lone Oak Road SE, Salem, followed by a reception. Suggested donations include The Music Lessons Project; Camerata Musica; and Oregon Symphony in Salem.

The family thanks Windsong Memory Care for Ginny’s special care during her final months.