Virginia Weinland, 102
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Virginia Weinland, 102, of Williamstown, formerly of Chappaqua, N.Y., died Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014.
Born in Cincinnati in 1912, daughter of to Thomas Lightfoot Pogue Sr. and Margaret Edwards Pogue, she graduated from Vassar College in 1934 and moved to New York after her marriage.
Mrs. Weinland was a naturalist and nature photographer, well known in Westchester, N.Y., for her passion for the outdoors and the natural world around her. She worked briefly for Proctor & Gamble in Cincinnati as a data punch-card processor in the very early computer days.
As her children left the nest, she began to work at the Chappaqua Public Library, first as a volunteer and later as an employee; she continued her volunteer work until she moved to Williamstown in 2005.
Approaching her 60th birthday, she acquired a camera and set out to teach herself how to record the flora and fauna of Westchester and the wider world. A perfectionist, and as her proficiency with the camera grew, so did her scientific knowledge of what she was photographing.
Together with her husband, Richard Weinland, she hiked most of the Westchester county trails at a snail's pace as she took close-up shots of wildflowers, bugs and butterflies. She and her husband also visited habitats around the world.
Her children and grandchildren soon learned that any hike with Grandma was not about "point to point" but rather investigation along the way.
Mrs. Weinland's photographs have been printed in a number of books, including some of the Audubon field guides. She also presented illustrated slide shows for a number of years.
She also began regular nature walks under the auspices of the Audubon Society. This group of hikers gradually morphed into the Audubon Ladies Fresh Air and Standing Around Club that continues to explore the nature preserves of Westchester and southern Connecticut.
When she moved from Chappaqua to Heritage Hills in Somers, N.Y., in 1987, Mrs. Weinland became active in the chamber music concerts presented at Heritage Hills and other venues in northern Westchester. She wrote the program notes for many of these concerts and, always a stickler for accuracy, produced well-researched and -written comments.
Her husband, whom she married in 1937, died in 1992.
She leaves a son, Thomas Weinland and his wife, and his wife, Mary Ginn; two daughters, Helen Weinland and Margaret Weinland; four grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and a devoted circle of family and friends.
Her siblings Margaret Pogue Macneale, Barbara Pogue Preston and Thomas Lightfoot Pogue Jr. predeceased her.
FUNERAL NOTICE — A gathering of friends and family will be scheduled for the spring. The family suggests that any donations be directed to: Friends of the Trailside Museum Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, PO Box 236, Cross River, NY 10518 or Friends of the Chappaqua Public Library, 195 South Greeley Ave., Chappaqua, NY 10514.