Steering Committee:
Debbie Bishop
Friends of Hospice
Owen Connell
Oswego County Opportunities
Karen Ferguson
American Red Cross of Central New York
Paul Kurtzman
Oswego Industries
Deana Masuicca
YMCA/Oswego
David Barber
Oswego Health
Jane Murphy
Literacy Volunteers
Mercedes Niess
H. Lee White Museum
Joanne Piersma
Humane Society
Mark Slayton
Oswego College Foundation
Melanie Trexler
United Way
Jeanne Unger
Farnham
Randy Zeigler
Ameriprise Financial Services
Donor Stories
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Lester never finished school, but he worked there until his death in 1992. Mopping floors didn’t make him rich, but it taught him the value of education. Thanks to his bequest to the tutoring program, things will add up for a few more students
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Ralph spent hours fishing with his grandchildren . In 1997, he was buried next to his favorite fishing hole. To stock it for his great-grandchildren, he made a bequest to a local conservation organization in his will. Thanks to Ralph, fish are still biting.
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Maria never missed a classical concert. Hearing the works of the old masters made her heart soar. She died last year, but the music she loved is still playing. Thanks to a bequest in her will, her beloved orchestra won’t miss a beat.
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Marjorie Chun was a woman of faith who treated both body and soul. She died last year, but a gift in her estate plan means the hospital where she worked will have a new chapel. Thanks to Dr. Chun, people who are hurting will have a place to seek peace |
VIRGINIA DEAN LEGACY LEAVES INDELIBLE
MARK
From
the archives...
Educator, volunteer, voracious reader, world traveler, feminist, and
philanthropist are just a few words to describe one Oswego, New York native
whose educational legacy has left an indelible mark on the Oswego community and
the Oswego Public Library. That person is Virginia Dean.
Virginia Dean was born in Oswego on April 3, 1896. The only child of
Charles and Margaret Oliver Dean, she was educated in Oswego schools before
leaving her hometown, briefly, to pursue a college education.
Dean attended Wells College in Aurora, New York and graduated with a
Bachelor of Arts degree in 1917. She eventually earned her Master of Arts degree
from Syracuse University, but never lost sight of her vision to serve the Oswego
community as a teacher.
For 42 years, Dean served Oswego students as an educator in a variety of
positions within the Oswego City School District. Before her retirement in 1959,
she was Director of Junior High School and Elementary Education, but she began
her career as a Latin teacher at Oswego High School and she influenced many
students during her tenure there from 1917 to 1940.
Anthony Murabito, a former Oswego City School District administrator and
a Latin student of Dean’s recalls his colleague and teacher.
“She was a very, very fine person. She was quite intelligent and read a
lot. She was warm and generous, but also strict with her students,” states
Murabito.
In 1940, Dean became principal of Fitzhugh Park School in Oswego. During
her time there, she worked with many teachers who grew to understand and
appreciate her as an educator.
Frances Barry, a retired Oswego teacher, worked under Dean for
many years at Fitzhugh Park School and has fond memories of her remarkable
colleague.
“Virginia Dean was a remarkable woman and a very good teacher. She was
very bright, professional, fair minded, and a good principal. Virginia was very
interesting, loved to travel, and read a lot,” states Barry.
Although Dean was seen by many as very professional,
business-like, and a lady, her good friend and colleague, Doris Allen, who also
taught at Fitzhugh Park School, remembers her as a warm and good friend.
“There were really two persons in Virginia Dean,” Allen states, “
She was a great intellect and absolutely lady-like. She had to live up to the
family picture of perfection and did it so well that people didn’t really know
her that well.”
Dean’s family legacy included her uncle, Oswegonian, Lt. Colonel
Robert Oliver, who was a member of the union forces during the Civil War. After
his death, a memorable funeral procession traveled through the city of Oswego in
his honor. Dean also had a paternal great-aunt and uncle who found their
fortunes in Singer sewing machine franchises outside of the United States.
“People often only saw Virginia as a perfectionist, hard worker,
honorable, and a good administrator. People saw her with awe,” Allen adds.
But there was more to Dean according to Allen, “My relationship
with Virginia Dean was very different from other people’s relationships with
her. She was very warm, loving, generous, and young acting. That was the other
side of Virginia.”
Allen recollects spending many hours with Dean at Allen’s summer
home in Ramona Beach in Pulaski.
“We spent many hours floating on inner tubes in Lake Ontario and
talking. We loved to talk about many topics and enjoy a good laugh,” states
Allen.
A constant student of life, Dean traveled extensively after her
retirement in 1959. She visited six continents and most of her traveling was
done alone. Doris Allen recalls Dean’s attitude about traveling alone.
“Virginia said that if she waited until she found someone who
liked to travel, had the same vacation times she had, and the means to travel,
she probably wouldn’t ever leave her front porch,” Allen states.
Allen recalls a funny picture that Dean showed her, which gave her
a good laugh. While traveling in Australia, Dean was photographed riding on the
back of an ostrich.
On Dean’s travels, Allen noted, “Virginia made friends all over
the world. I think people would be surprised to know that.”
In addition to being a fine educator and friend, Virginia Dean was
an avid volunteer within the Oswego community. She was on the Board of Directors
of the Oswego chapter of the American Red Cross and spent 50 years volunteering
at Oswego Hospital as a member of the Women’s Auxiliary.
Dean, the feminist, was a
member of several professional organizations that promoted the advancement of
women. She was a member of the American Association of University Women, the
Women’s City Club of Oswego, Zonta International, and Delta Kappa Gamma. Dean is
also listed in the Who’s Who Among American Women.
Virginia Dean’s most profound contribution to the Oswego community
came at the time of her death in 1989. She left a generous donation to the
Oswego Public Library as part of her estate. Dean left a $200,000 trust fund to
be applied to the cost of any future reconstruction or remodeling that the
library may need.
"Virginia Dean was an
educator with great vision to realize that the library was not adequate for the
population of Oswego during her lifetime. Her foresight that prompted her to
leave money to the library building project has made the renovation and
expansion of the library possible,” states Mercedes Niess, Oswego Public Library
board member.
The Oswego Public Library is currently undergoing a renovation and
expansion project, which will transform the building, which dates back to the
1850’s into a state of the art, modern library intended to adequately serve the
present and future generations of the Oswego community. The renovation and
expansion project is expected to be complete in late 2007.
As an educator and a person, Dean was an avid reader. Her donation
to the library didn’t surprise her friend Doris Allen.
“Virginia was a voracious reader, a great intellect, and generous
donor to the library. Her donation to the library didn’t surprise me because she
strongly supported reading in her students,” states Allen.
The actions and affection of one person can sometimes change a
community for the better. That is the case with Virginia Dean. During her life,
her contributions as an educator had a major impact on the students of Oswego.
In her death, her contributions to the education of Oswego residents continue
through her vision and her financial support of the Oswego Public Library.
“Virginia Dean loved Oswego and kids,” Doris Allen stated about
her friend.
Financial contributions for the Oswego Public Library renovation
and expansion project can be made by contacting the library’s Capital Campaign
office at 216-6176 or by visiting the library’s website at
oswegopubliclibrary.org.
Estate
Legacies
Several estate legacies have been received by Leave a Legacy members
during the past four years that are linked directly to the Oswego County Leave a
Legacy efforts. The United Way of Oswego County, The Oswego College Foundation,
Friends of Camp Hollis, Oswego YMCA have all received substantial gifts through
this process.