EMBREE, Virginia L.

Virginia Lenora Embree, of Chickasha, Oklahoma, will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, January 10, 2009, in the First Christian Church. Virginia Embree was born to William Ratleoff Embree and Cora Alice Shaffer Embree on November 7, 1914, in Hobart, Oklahoma. She died on January 5, 2009, in the arms of her loving family in Chickasha. She taught more than a generation of women, especially her nieces and students, to expect and receive more than the best from themselves. Virginia graduated from Oklahoma College for Women (now USAO) in Chickasha in 1938. She was instrumental in creating the Alumni Hall of Fame and the Alumni Scholarship Program. She served the college as Assistant Registrar, and then eight years as Registrar and Director of Placement Service. After a leave of absence to create a new university in Korea, she returned to the campus as the first full-time Alumni Director. As director, Virginia was a leader in the fund-raising, planning and construction of the Alumni Chapel which was dedicated debt-free in 1968. In 1974, Virginia was inducted into the Alumni Hall of Fame. She retired July 1, 1979, after forty years of service to the University. She is survived by numerous loving nieces and nephews and their families. Interment will be at 4:00 p.m. in the Hobart Rose Cemetery in Hobart, Oklahoma. Service will be under the direction of McRay Funeral Home, Chickasha. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Virginia Embree Scholarship Fund at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, 1727 Alabama, Chickasha,OK 73018. Visitation will be on Friday, January 9, 2009, from noon until 8:00 p.m.