Marjorie Forehand Walls, 91, passed away peacefully at her home in Charlottesville, with her children at her side, on Sunday, May 17, 2009. She will be dearly missed by family and friends. Marjorie was born Feb. 5, 1918, in Hampton, to the late Hersey Cecil Forehand and Bertha Stafford Forehand.
She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Henry David Walls, and her son, Gary Richard Culbertson. Survivors include her daughter, Joyce Allan and her husband, Richard “Freeman” Allan, of Crozet; daughter, Dorene Sue Stanley and her partner, Lawrence Barnwell, of Scottsville; four grandchildren, Joseph Koelling, Jennifer Pierce and Jesse and Jeremy Anstine; two stepgrandchildren, Daniel and Gabriel Allan; four great-grandchildren; brother, Hersey C. Forehand Jr. and his wife, Joyce Forehand; sister, Anne Brown Showell; and six nieces and nephews.
Marjorie was a residential student at the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind in Staunton. She later graduated from Gallaudet University with a degree in library science. Her first job was at VSDB as a librarian and teacher, where she organized the library for the children. She resigned after two years to fulfill her life dream of becoming a homemaker and a mother. She later returned to work as a librarian and cataloger for the American Meteorological Society, the Federal Power Commission and the Library of Congress. After her retirement, she went to Lebanon as a volunteer librarian and teacher at the School for the Deaf in Beirut.
Marjorie was a member of the National Association of the Deaf, the Virginia Association of the Deaf, Gallaudet University Alumni Association, Phi Kappa Zeta sorority and Blue Ridge Deaf Seniors. In 1998, she was awarded the honor of “Virginia Deaf Mother of the Year” by the Virginia Association of the Deaf.
Marjorie enjoyed travel, reading and cooking. She had a blessed, late-life, 13-year marriage to Henry Walls, and her greatest pleasure was spending time with her family. She had a warm and sunny disposition, was loved by all who knew her and will be remembered for her gentle kindness. She accepted the difficulties in her life without complaint and was grateful for all her blessings. She was the best of mothers and will be greatly missed by the entire family for her wisdom, guidance and unconditional love.
The family extends sincerest thanks to the remarkably loving staff of RoseWood Village, who became part of her extended family in her final years, and to the generous hearts of the staff of Hospice of the Piedmont.
A memorial service will be conducted at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 30, 2009, at the chapel of Thacker Brothers Funeral Home in Scottsville. Interment of her ashes will follow at Scottsville Cemetery.
The family will receive friends at the funeral home one hour prior to the service. In lieu of flowers, Marjorie asked that donations be made to the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind in Staunton or to Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C.
