Virginia Moody

An experienced executive who worked at various Air Force bases, including in Germany and Brooks AFB, and at USAA, Moody eventually struck out on her own, starting Moody & Associates in 2001.

"She was a really special person in the community," friend and colleague Melissa Vela-Williams said. "She was one of those warm, kind of maternal women who took you under her wing; I gleaned a lot of knowledge from her."

Moody died Nov. 5 just a few days after celebrating her 66th birthday.

The oldest daughter among eight children raised in rural Alabama, Moody went to college after graduating from high school

Becoming pen pals with her future husband after her cousin, who was his Air Force roommate, told her to write to him, the couple corresponded for quite awhile before meeting in person.

Marrying in 1971, Moody became an Air Force wife, living in Germany for several years before moving to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where her husband retired in the 1980s.

"My mom always worked," her daughter Octavia Moody said. "Overseas, she supported a lot of base commanders as an executive secretary" and held other positions.

With a bachelor's degree and dual master's degrees, Moody began working on her doctorate in adult leadership education while her husband finished his bachelor's degree in New Mexico.

Moving the family to San Antonio after she was offered a position at Brooks AFB, Moody worked mostly in human resources and diversity.

Hired at USAA in the mid-1990s, Moody was assistant vice president of human resources and corporate culture by the time she left to start her own business in 2001.

"She always had a passion to help people or to help them find out what their passion is," her daughter said.

Even with a full-time career, Moody stayed involved with her three children, making it home for dinner every evening and never missing their school events.

You could see her in the stands, always there to support us," her daughter said. "And she never forgot a birthday. She believed that birthdays are your personal days, and you need to celebrate."

But perhaps most important to Moody was her faith.

"In our household, it was God first, family second," her daughter said.

Virginia Moody

Born: Nov. 1, 1951, Alaska

Died: Nov. 5, 2017, San Antonio

Preceded by: Mother Betty Joyce Rozell; two brothers

Survived by: Husband Walter L. Moody; daughters Octavian Moody and Sonja Moody; son Walter L. Moody II; father Leroy Doty Sr.; two grandchildren; two brothers; three sisters

Services: Funeral at 11 a.m. Thursday at Community Bible Church, 2477 N. Loop 1604 East; burial at 10:15 a.m. Tuesday at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery