(1925 – 2004)
During her forty-three-year career with Cooperative Extension in Walker County, Virginia Hiller Kilgore came to be friends with most of the residents of Walker County. Even when Virginia met strangers, they did not remain strangers for very long. Serving as a secretary in the Walker County office, Virginia was the first person most clients saw when they entered the office. She always had a smile and a cup of coffee for them and took the time to ask about their families. She knew all the clients, their spouses, and children by name and usually remembered their addresses and telephone numbers as well!
Virginia was loved by adult and youth clients alike. She knew almost every family in Walker County and always went the “extra mile” to see that clients received the information they needed. She was the ultimate secretary and a very loyal Extension employee.
Virginia Hiller Kilgore was born on May 5, 1925, in Jasper, where she lived her entire life, except for one year. After graduation from Walker County High School in 1943, she worked briefly for K.L. Jones and Chicago Telephone Supply Company before becoming employed as a secretary for agriculture agents in the Walker County Extension Office in 1943. She was employed in this position until she retired on September 30, 1989, except for a three-year absence to take care of her three young daughters.
Virginia was dedicated to her family, especially her three daughters, Eva Gail Thompson, Jan Rowland, and Kathie Hendricks, and their families. Even though she loved her job, Virginia’s greatest joy was spending time with her family. After her retirement, Virginia enjoyed spending time with her daughters and three grandsons, Scott Thompson, and Drew and Ben Rowland until she passed away on May 5, 2004, her 79th birthday.
To honor the memory of Virginia Hiller Kilgore, her name is inscribed on the dedicatory plaque of the Extension Memorial Chapel.
Chapel Plaque Inscription Number: 465
