Virginia Lane Gambrill Hendrickson, 90, died on November 11 in Frederick, MD. Born October 7, 1923, Virginia was the daughter of James Henry Gambrill III and Virginia Cartwright Lane Gambrill. She was married for 61 years to the late Mason Hendrickson, who she had known since childhood. Virginia was active in civic affairs, serving her community in positions of leadership. She grew up in Frederick, attended public schools and graduated from Hood College in 1944. Virginia's lifelong interest in education led to a position as teacher of English at Milton High School (1962-68) near Lewisburg in central Pennsylvania, where Mason served as manager and then president of the family milling firm of Dietrich and Gambrill, Inc. Virginia and Mason moved to Hagerstown, MD in 1968 where they lived on South Prospect St. for 30 years. Virginia continued her involvement in education as the senior board member and guiding light of the Hagerstown Day Nursery, the oldest community organization of its kind to offer early childhood learning to disadvantaged children in Washington County. Virginia was a longtime supporter of the Girl Scouts and followed the family tradition of assisting regional schools and colleges. Virginia maintained an active interest in local and national politics, an interest developed early through family discussions in the Gambrill and Lane households and the vibrancy of political life around Frederick's Court Square in the 1920's and 30's with close childhood friends, including second cousin Mac Mathias and Arthur Potts, among others. In later life Virginia headed the League of Women Voters in Hagerstown and was a generous supporter of those candidates for public office who she thought would improve life for the citizens of Maryland. In Hagerstown from the 1970's to the turn of the 21st century Virginia built community ties and contributed to civic causes. She served as president of the Hagerstown Garden Club, an activity that led to a decade-long association with the Maryland House and Garden Pilgrimage, an organization dedicated to the preservation and restoration of architecturally significant properties in the state. As the representative from Washington County, Virginia enjoyed participating in annual tours of other counties, especially near the Chesapeake and in Southern Maryland where she had family roots. She also worked tirelessly to preserve the historic character of South Prospect Street in Hagerstown. Along with her sisters, Virginia was a benefactor of the Delaplaine Visual Arts Center in Frederick, formerly the site of a Gambrill milling plant. She devoted a lifetime of service to the Episcopal Church -- All Saints' in Frederick, St. Andrew's in Lewisburg, and St. John's in Hagerstown, where she served on the altar guild and supported improvements to the church property. As the daughter from a marriage that one local newspaper at the time described as "uniting two of the most prominent families of Western Maryland," Virginia was schooled in history from a young age, and on the value of learning from history. In 1934, the Frederick Civic Club chose ten year-old Virginia to serve as a court page at the state's Tercentenary pageant in Baltimore, where she stayed at the Southern Hotel with her great-aunt Grace Winebrener Trail. In 1949, she participated in dedication ceremonies at Hood College's new Gambrill Gymnasium with her grandfather James Henry Gambrill, Jr., who had raised substantial funds for Hood, and her uncle, then governor William Preston Lane, Jr. Much later, she assisted Mason when he served as president of the Maryland Historical Society in Baltimore. Virginia could say that all of her immigrant ancestors arrived in America before the Revolution. These "old-Maryland" ties led Virginia to commission a book in 2006 on the Gambrill family, a study in which she participated with author Tracy Matthew Melton that tracks her family's role in the state's transition over three centuries from a rural plantation system along the Chesapeake to a modern industrial and service based economy. Virginia will also be remembered for her personal qualities, combining concern for others, graciousness, fidelity, good humor, clear thinking, intellectual curiosity, and grace that in later years helped her cope with chronic pain and health problems. She was devoted to her family and was especially supportive of educational opportunities for her children and grandchildren, as well as for providing a warm and friendly home for family gatherings. Virginia is survived by two sons, Edwin Mason Hendrickson, Jr. and James Gambrill Hendrickson, both of Bethesda; one daughter, Mary Carter Morgan of Frederick; two sisters, Eleanor Bowers of Frederick and Blanche Stockbridge of Acton, MA; eight grandchildren and one great-grandson. The memorial service will be held on Friday, November 15, 2013 beginning at 11 AM at All Saint's Episcopal Church, 106 W. Church St., Frederick. Arrangements by the Keeney & Basford Funeral Home. Please visit Mrs. Hendrickson's online memorial by going to www.keeneybasford.com.
