Virginia "Ginnie" E Davila

Virginia E Davila was born on November 7, 1920, at Temple Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She spent her early years in Philadelphia and Darby until the passing of her mother, after which she moved to Lebanon, Pennsylvania, to live with her cousins Katherine and Elizabeth Tiernes. She graduated from St. Mary’s Catholic High School in 1939.

In 1941, she married Harold J. Eck at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Lebanon, and the couple returned to Philadelphia, where she later entered Temple University’s College of Education. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Education in 1958 and began her teaching career in Bristol Township at Franklin Delano Roosevelt Junior High School.

Answering President John F. Kennedy’s call to service, she joined the Peace Corps in 1961 and trained in Los Angeles before being stationed in Lagos, Nigeria. For two years, she taught English and Speech at the United Christian Secondary School of Apapa, sharing her love of education across cultures.

Upon returning home in 1963, she resumed teaching at Bristol Township’s Delhaas High School, where she became Department Head of Foreign Languages and taught Spanish through advanced levels. She earned her Master’s Degree in Spanish and Secondary Education in 1965. In 1967, she married Domingo Davila and lived for a time in Puerto Rico before returning to Pennsylvania, continuing her career at Harriton High School and eventually back at Bristol Township. She retired in 1986 after a distinguished career dedicated to language and education.

Her love of travel took her across Mexico, Spain, Puerto Rico, Australia, Hawaii, France, the Netherlands, Ireland, and England—a country especially dear to her, which she visited many times until 2008.

She is survived by her nephew, William F. Daley, along with many dear and beloved friends both in the United States and England.

A visitation for Virginia will be held Thursday, September 18, 2025 starting at 12:00 PM at James J. Dougherty Funeral Home, Inc., 2200 Trenton Rd, Levittown, Pennsylvania 19056, followed by a memorial service at 1:00 PM. She will be laid to rest at 1:30 PM at Resurrection Cemetery, 5201 Hulmeville Rd, Pennsylvania, PA 19020.

Her life was marked by service, learning, travel, and an unwavering devotion to her students, family, and friends.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the SPCA of Pennsylvania in Virginia's name.