Born Feb. 9, 1930, she grew up on a farm in Rogersville, the fourth daughter of Lewis Mason and Osie Jo McLemore Fuqua. Dubbed “best all around” in her senior class at Lauderdale County High School, Virginia enrolled in Florence State Teachers College (now UNA) with plans to become a teacher. A few days of practice teaching convinced her to shift instead to business and accounting, where she excelled. After graduating from college, her work life centered around bookkeeping and office management, mostly for car dealerships. After retiring from full-time work, she kept busy by working as a tax preparer for H&R Block.