Virginia Bird Brogan

Virginia was born in Lansing, Michigan, to Jess and Evelyn Bird on February 26, 1935. Soon after her birth, Virginia moved to the Cumberland Plateau area of East Tennessee, where Jess became an agricultural extension agent for the University of Tennessee. Virginia lived on the family homesteads just outside of Crossville before moving to a home built by Jess on a mountaintop in Ozone, Tennessee.

At their home in Ozone, Virginia grew up as a farmer’s daughter, raising strawberries, planting orchards, picking berries, and even milking goats. She was a true lover of the outdoors and often spoke of spending evenings on Sunset Rock, watching storms roll in from the west.

The Bird family also had a home in Knoxville, where Virginia attended high school and later UT. She graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1957 with a degree in geology and a minor in music. She became a classically trained concert pianist and was also proficient in singing and playing the viola.

After graduation, Virginia was employed by East Tennessee Natural Gas as an office clerk and secretary. She could type an astonishing 140 words per minute on a mechanical typewriter. Virginia was an incredibly intelligent, talented, and beautiful woman.

Virginia married Beauchamp Brogan in 1959, and together they purchased property on Fort Loudoun Lake, where they built a home in 1962. Soon afterward, Virginia left her career to devote herself fully to her family. She dedicated her life to being a loving wife and mother, raising four children.

Her priorities were ensuring every opportunity was available to her children, especially in music and sports, and having dinner on the table every evening promptly at 6:00 p.m. No one was ever allowed out the door in the morning without first having a home-cooked breakfast.

Virginia lived a full and meaningful life, supporting her husband throughout his career as an attorney for both The Tennessee Valley Authority and the University of Tennessee, where he also served as Secretary to the Board of Trustees. She devoted herself to raising her family while remaining deeply involved in music. She was always happy to play the piano for anyone who asked, and she remained a faithful member of First United Methodist Church and its choirs.

Virginia was preceded in death by her husband, Beauchamp Brogan; her daughter, Dr. Marlene Brogan; and her parents, Jess and Evelyn Bird.

She is survived by her sons, John Brogan (wife, Romona Matthews Brogan), Alan Brogan, and Jim Brogan (wife, Dee Dee Hook Brogan); her grandchildren, Mary Caroline Mackenzie (Danny Mackenzie), Elizabeth Grace Brogan, Kimberly Angerstein McQueen (Brad McQueen), and Kinsey Marie Angerstein (Peter Nudo); her great-grandchildren, Brinley McQueen and Riley McQueen; her sister, Kathryn Freeman; her brother, Jennings Bird (Marianne); her sister-in-law, Doris Campbell and countless nieces and nephews on both the Bird and Brogan sides of the family.

The family wishes to extend their sincere gratitude to the care teams at Wesley Court Senior Living, including both assisted living and skilled nursing; Visiting Angels; and Alpha Omega Hospice for their compassionate care.

A graveside service will be held at Sherwood Chapel & Memorial Gardens, 3176 Alcoa Highway, Alcoa, Tennessee, at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, where Virginia will be laid to rest beside her husband of 49 years, Beauchamp Brogan.

The family will receive friends at a reception immediately following the graveside service at Cherokee Country Club, 5205 Lyons View Pike, Knoxville, Tennessee 37919, beginning at 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m.

All arrangements are being administered by Berry Highland Memorial in Knoxville, Tennessee.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Random Acts of Flowers at: https://randomactsofflowers-bloom.kindful.com/?campaign=1272926

Friends are invited to sign the online guest book at: www.highlandmemorialknoxville.com