Emily Ruth Zegeer

Emily Ruth Zegeer, 94, of Alexandria, Virginia died at home on October 17, 2018. Daughter of Walter and Florence Brittain, she grew up in Whitman, Massachusetts with her sisters, Dorothy and Barbara, and her brother Robin. She joined the United States Cadet Nurse Corp in 1943, nursing wounded soldiers from the “Battle of the Bulge.” She then moved to the Washington D.C. area to work at the University of George Washington University Hospital. She became the first Director of the Burdick School of Practical Nursing. Emily married Jim Zegeer, a Washington area Patent Attorney, in 1958. Emily and Jim vacationed regularly at the cottage her father built in Chatham on Cape Cod. It became so precious to them that they eventually purchased the “B’s Hive,” and their children and grandchildren have shared in this great fortune through the summers of their lives. Emily worked as a geriatric nurse for more than 30 years. She was an amateur artist and photographer, and an avid collector of art and antiques. She was a partner in the Alexandria West Antique Shop in Old Town Alexandria and was also a member of the local antique club. Through the years she served and participated in many other local organizations in the Mount Vernon area and was a longstanding member of the Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church. She was a lover of all animals and she rescued and cared for dozens of cats over the years. Emily considered herself a patriot and was a proud member of the Republican party. She is survived by her devoted family: Jim, her beloved husband of 60 years; her three children, John Zegeer (Lynne), Florence Young (Thomas) and William Zegeer (Maryann); six grandchildren, Jack, Kay, Kristen, Elias, Wyatt and Jake; a great granddaughter, Amelia; and her younger sister, Dorothy Clark.