Virginia Edythe Higgins

Virginia Edythe Higgins October 5, 1948 - March 16, 2020 Virginia Edythe Higgins was born on October 5, 1948 in Alexandria, Virginia, the middle child of Cecelia Keyworth Irvine and George Joseph Irvine. Friends and family from her younger years know her affectionately as Ginny and for the last forty years she went by Virginia. Virginia married Michael James Higgins, the older brother of her dear friend Pat Forbes, in November 1967 at the tender age of 19 and gave birth to their daughter Heather Michele Higgins in 1970. While the young couple lived in married student housing at the University of Virginia for the 1969-70 school year, and Virginia worked at the University, she was nevertheless banned from all but night classes due to the University’s gender discrimination. Virginia was a stunning beauty and must have been a particularly striking sight around the all-male Grounds, pregnant and sporting short dresses of the day. It brought Virginia great satisfaction that the University began opening admissions to women with the next school year. Undaunted in the face of adversity from a young age and armed with a great intellect and wicked sense of humor, Virginia helped to change the world by being herself loud and proud and fighting injustices everywhere she found them. Thankfully, she was not alone, although she was no less remarkable for being one of many advocating for women’s rights as a fundamental step towards human rights in the second half of the 20th century. Despite the daily pressures of working to support her husband while he pursued his degree, raising a child, and eventually also pursuing her own degree, Virginia took Heather to iconic pro-choice rallies, peace marches, and cultural events in Richmond, VA and Washington DC. Summer camp at the Smithsonian Institute and ballet performances at the Kennedy Center are just some of the ways she sought to inspire Heather’s curiosity, confidence, and appreciation of the arts and humanities. What amazing gifts! Virginia lived her values of unfaltering advocacy and support of educational and professional opportunities for women and their fundamental reproductive rights, by donating, marching, and speaking truth to power at every turn. Virginia’s father was a filmmaker and technical advisor for the Navy and OSS Field Photo during WWII, making it no surprise that Virginia was drawn to cameras and filmmaking. Breaking into filmmaking was exceptionally difficult for women and she knew she needed a career that would support her and her daughter, so she pivoted her interest into television. In addition to UVA, Virginia also studied at the University of South Carolina - Columbia and ultimately earned her Bachelors in Broadcast Media from American University in about 1980. While completing her degree and co-parenting her daughter, she began a trailblazing, successful career in television, initially at WETA 26 in Arlington, Virginia, working on esteemed programs such as MacNeil/Lehrer Report and In Performance at The White House, and ultimately earning three Emmy Awards for her best-in-class work as a Senior Video Operator for her work on All My Children for ABC Television in New York City. Ronne, Virginia’s younger brother by 9 years, cherishes his memories of visiting his big sister at the WETA studio and when she was working camera on live remote events such as A Capitol Fourth in Washington, D.C. He was so impressed, fascinated, and proud of what Ginny was doing. Virginia brought school age Heather to the station at times and let her go adventuring throughout the studios and control rooms, even letting her work the phones for a pledge drive when she was maybe, perhaps but probably not, old enough. Virginia’s personal and professional integrity drove her to stay ahead of the technology curve and out of the fray of network politics. She earned the respect and admiration of her peers and other industry leaders and was highly sought after for the caliber and creativity of her work, first as a camera operator and then as a senior video operator. Virginia used her influence to help other young women break in and be taken seriously, as others had helped her. After her first marriage, which brought the young family briefly to San Francisco in the early 1970s and then back to Northern Virginia, Virginia’s life began anew when she met her life partner and true love, Jeffrey Philipson, and joined him and his teenage sons Glenn and Adam in Brooklyn Heights, New York in 1983, followed by Heather a year later. Glenn and Adam had moved out of the house by then to attend college and follow their passions for acting. Even when living in California, they stayed connected to the family. Regardless of some challenges at different points, Virginia and Jeffrey were always incredibly proud of all three kids. While Virginia transitioned her career to the NYC metro area by initially commuting to New Jersey to work for WWOR-TV 9, Jeffrey proudly ran the third-generation family printing business, Philipson Press, Inc. in Tribeca, the financial district, and Bedford-Stuyvesant, befriending and beloved by the artist community, neighbors, and small business owners until he sold the business and retired in 1997. Virginia and Jeffrey were consummate hosts and often gathered fascinating and diverse groups of family and friends for dinner parties in their apartment or up on the roof of their building amidst the panoramic view of the New York skyline. Virginia’s mother raised her to set an impeccable table with fine linens, silver, china, and an endless array of delicacies. You simply could not leave their home hungry, thirsty, or bored. You might leave with a belly ache from laughing so hard. Virginia and Jeffrey moved to the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx in 1999. They were lucky to have the remarkable Robin Weinstein and Paul Alpert as their nextdoor neighbors and became fast friends and extended family members of the growing family. Some of Virginia’s fondest memories of those years are of Jeffrey and young Brandon, completely attuned to each other while creating salads and art projects and of rocking and reading Brandon to sleep when she would get home from work. Virginia retired in the mid-2000s, which freed her up for, you guessed it, more entertaining at their apartment in The River House of Riverdale. They hosted large family brunches, holiday dinners, and their annual Easter egg hunt with Robin and Paul’s kids. In 2012, Jeffrey moved into the Hebrew Home of Riverdale. It was a difficult adjustment for the couple and the family as a whole, but they found a rhythm, visiting with each other often and speaking on the phone daily. Family gatherings were sometimes at the apartment and sometimes at the Hebrew Home, surrounded by the breathtaking sculpture garden and panoramic view of the Hudson River. Jeffrey has been sculpting his whole adult life; Virginia and Jeffrey’s homes and the homes of their children have always been filled with his artwork and the paintings of his beloved aunt, the renowned painter Sara Pildes. Other beloved family and dear friends of Virginia’s and Jeffrey’s include Sara’s sister, the larger-than-life Doris Philipson Press, Jeffrey’s brothers and sisters-in-law, Ira and Rebecca Philipson and Steve and Barbara Philipson, Jeffrey’s many cousins nieces, nephews, and their children, and many dear friends including Steven and Louise Bergerson and their extended family especially Steven’s mother Jeanette Bergerson, Kathie Falgitano, Francesca and Jamie Yates, Eddie Kritzler, Helen Kritzler, David Appleton, George and Lydia Montanez, Danny Pildes, Barrin Bonet, Elisa Eisenman and Robert Cohen, Brian Sirota, and Marty Hurley. Virginia and Jeffrey cherished their many cats over the years, Spunky, Toughy, Missy, and Sheba, and dote on their granddogs Miss Lottie, Miss Izzy, and Winslow. In addition to Virginia’s parents and siblings, some of the earliest and most beloved people in her early life were close family friends of her parents, Drs. Muriel & Irving Gardner (North Bethesda, Maryland) and Dick & Billy Walker (Fairfield, Virginia) and their kids, whose memories she cherished until her death. Virginia left this life the way she lived it, with courage, determination, on her own terms, and supported in love. She died peacefully on March 16, 2020 at Allen Hospital in Manhattan, being held by her daughter and showered with messages of love and wishes for peace. The room was kept joyful with comforting music. Virginia’s family is forever indebted to the medical professionals who tended to her throughout her life and especially at the end, including the doctors, nurses, and aides of the NewYork-Presbyterian hospital system and in particular at the Allen Hospital. In addition, the family deeply appreciates the team at the Methodist Home for Nursing and Rehabilitation where she received excellent physical therapy on numerous occasions. Virginia was preceded in death by her parents Cecelia Keyworth Irvine and George Joseph Irvine and her sister Patricia Cecelia Irvine. She is survived by Jeffrey Philipson (Bronx, New York), Heather Higgins (Charlottesville, Virginia), Jeffrey’s sons Glenn Lawson (Ft. Lauderdale, Florida) and Adam Scott Philipson (Little Silver, New Jersey), Adam’s wife Alma Delia Philipson (Little Silver, New Jersey), and Virginia’s brother Ronne Irvine (Reston, Virginia). She adored being Grandma to Adam and Alma Philipson’s children Amanda and Aldan (Little Silver, New Jersey) and Robin Weinstein and Paul Alpert’s children Brandon, Zoe, and Ryan (Bronx, New York), all of whom brought her so much joy and happiness in the past years when her health was a challenge. Virginia also loved and was beloved almost as an Abuela by the many nieces and nephews of Alma and Adam in Puebla, Mexico. Please do not send flowers. Instead, Virginia asks that you vote in every election. She would be honored if you also choose to celebrate her life with a donation to Planned Parenthood (https://www.plannedparenthood.org/get-involved/other-ways-give), Emily’s List (https://secure.emilyslist.org/page/contribute/in-memoriam), ASPCA (https://secure.aspca.org/donate/memorial) or Compassion & Choices (https://compassionandchoices.org/contribution/give-a-gift-in-honor-of-a-friend-or-loved-one/). In keeping with her wishes, there will be no public memorial service. It’s no surprise that Virginia chose as her last act of charity to donate her body to science. A private family event will be arranged for a later date. Cards of condolence can be sent to 821 Altavista Ave, Charlottesville, VA 22902 and will be shared with the family. You are welcome to leave a funny story or cherished memory on the Tribute Wall.