IAWA: Virginia Currie, Valiant Woman Award Recipient

IAWA

CAUS

VALIANT WOMAN AWARD

Church Women United - Blacksburg, VA
[presented May 6, 1995]

VIRGINIA HERZ CURRIE (Mrs. Leonard J.)

Virginia Herz Currie was born, reared and educated in the state of Minnesota. She married Leonard J. Currie in February 1937, soon after both graduated in the architectural program at the University of Minnesota.

This couple traveled over much of the world, having lived in Bogota, Columbia; Panang, Malaysia; as well as in Boston, Massachusetts; Chicago, Illinois; and currently Blacksburg, Virginia.

Regardless of where they lived, Virginia soon became involved in church and community activities.

As an active member in the Women's Guild of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Blacksburg she served several years as chair of the ecumenical action committee and was a real influence in the church and the Guild in this area. She introduced the "Coins in a Jar" project which was based on the Church Women United's concept of the "Least Coin" program to support the youth ministry. She also served as chair of the finance committee of the Women's Guild and as a representative to Church Women United.

Serving on the Executive Board of Church Women United, she has been a chair of the Finance Committee and of the Ecumenical Action Committee, which under her leadership did a survey of the facilities and conditions for women in Montgomery County Jail in 1993.

Her interest in community affairs has been evident in a number of ways. While living in Bogota, Columbia with her husband and three children, she served as President of the U.S. Women's Association. She imported a simple machine to grind peanuts into peanut butter, thus endearing herself to all the young American children in her community who were missing their favorite food.

On a larger scale, in January 1960, she was one of three women of the Blacksburg Women's Club who were able to convince ten local civic clubs to join together to produce a "Gay Nineties Review," using only local talent, to raise funds to establish a Speech and Hearing Clinic for the Blacksburg Public Schools.

The American Institute of Architects elected Virginia to Honorary Society Membership recognizing her voluntary efforts to improve the environment, both natural and built, and in particular her leadership in Blacksburg Beautification program resulting in landscaped medians throughout the town. She is currently involved in a Blacksburg endeavor, "Bring Back the Lyric" -- a project to restore an old movie theater in the center of town to be used for drama productions, musical evens and other cultural activities.

Her interest in music led to organizing a group of recorder players. This group now performs for many community gatherings.

Her leadership qualities were further shown when she served as President of the Faculty Wives Association at the University of Illinois, Chicago campus.

As a mother, she has inspired three children to follow in a life of serving others. Daughter Barbara has been a social worker, a writer on social issues, a volunteer for Amnesty International and currently a staff writer for the Journal of the American Occupational Therapy Association.

Daughter Betty, a former Peace Corps volunteer in Columbia, S.A. is married to a Peace Corps volunteer and has worked with the American Friends Service Corps (i.e. Quakers) on the Mexican - U.S. border. They are currently finishing a 3-year assignment with the Mennonites in Nairobi, Kenya, helping African women establish their own craft business.

Son Robert, a Harvard graduate in Architecture, has worked on projects in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Cypress. As an architect in Delray Beach, Florida, he has won numerous architectural design awards.

Virginia has worked with scholarship and art associations, wherever she has lived, In Chicago, she was instrumental in establishing a Landmark Preservation Council (whose aim is to help preserve architectural buildings and monuments (from "the jaws of so-called development." (i.e., architectural preservation)

As the wife of an outstanding international architect, Virginia has been active in and frequently served as president or chair of countless Association of Women's Architectural Leagues. With her husband, she has co-authored a treatise on Walter Gropius, a world-famous architect.