Anne Virginia Dill was born on May 18, 1936 in Corsicana, Texas, where she spent her youth. She moved to Dallas to attend Southern Methodist University where she majored in special education with an emphasis on deaf education and speech. She was a member of Zeta Tau Alpha and graduated in 1958. After graduation, Virginia met James (Jim) Haren. She and Jim married in June of 1960, after which they lived briefly in Tucson, Arizona before settling in Dallas, Texas.
Virginia worked at Stonewall Jackson Elementary School until the birth of her only daughter, Mary Anne Haren Gallagher, at which time she became a stay-at-home mom. She always loved being in the company of children and was a wonderful mother to Mary Anne and especially enjoyed the neighborhood girls, Jill Gregory Hayes, Leslie Gregory Michel, and Mary Jean Pearle that were frequent playmates.
Virginia tried a few activities to keep her busy once she and Jim were empty nesters. She tried and enjoyed tennis, bridge, and needlepoint, all of which she claimed to not be very good at. However, she became involved supporting Republican candidates and found her passion. Virginia met the two ladies who would become her two best friends, Sue Daniel and Kay Copeland. Together they supported local and state candidates for over 20 years. Because they spent so much time together, they referred to themselves as “the Golden Girls” after a television show of the same name.
Virginia also went back to work in the deaf education program at the Callier Center, where she worked until 2007 when she retired. She loved her co-workers and her students but was ready to travel and spend more time with her family. She and her cousins Madelyn Simkulet and Jane Roberts took trips to different courthouses throughout the south looking for genealogical records for their ancestors. She also toured through Europe and China with Jane.
Virginia was predeceased by her parents, Annie Louise Whitten and James Shannon Dill, as well as her cousins Madelyn and Jane, and her best friends, Kay and Sue. She is survived by her daughter, Mary Anne Haren Gallagher and her husband Tim, brother David Dill, grandsons Michael Gallagher (Holly) and Brian Gallagher (Megan), five great grandchildren, and cousins Lee and Amy Fikes, Marty Wynne, and Anne Swylock as well as many nieces and nephews and even more friends.
In lieu of flowers, if you wish to remember Virginia by way of a memorial contribution, the family has suggested that remembrances be made to the Callier Center in her name, 1966 Inwood Rd., Dallas, Texas, 75235 (https://giving.utdallas.edu/CallierCenter) or to the children’s charity of your choice.
A memorial service for Anne will be held Tuesday, February 13, 2024 at 10:00 AM at Sparkman/Hillcrest Funeral Home, 7405 West Northwest Highway, Dallas, TX 75225.
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