Woodring, Virginia (13 Sep 1914 - 21 Jul 1996) Obituary

Woodring, Virginia (13 Sep 1914 - 21 Jul 1996) attended Hillcrest High School in Springfield, MO. View the obituary, post a memory, or share a photo about Woodring, Virginia (13 Sep 1914 - 21 Jul 1996).

Graduation Year	Faculty
Date of Passing	Jul 21, 1996
About	Subjects taught: Journalism; City-wide Journalism Coordinator Virginia Woodring, 81, Springfield, Mo., passed away at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, July 21, 1996, in Americana Health Care Center after a long illness. She was born Sept. 13, 1914 in Darrow, Okla., the daughter of William Clinton and Dora Rothwell McKee. She graduated from SMS with majors in English and Art and received her M.A. degree In English from Northwestern Univeristy. She studied at the University of Minnesota in 196_ as Newspaper Fund Felle___[illegible] . Mrs. Woodring taught in Montier, Columbia, and Cabool, and began teaching in Springfield in 1945. She became Journalism Coordinator for the Springfield School System in 1963 and served in that position until she retired in 1982. in 1966 the Freedom Foundation at Valley Forge, Pa., awarded the highest national award in the school category to Springfield Public Schools R-12 for the Teen Talk Program. "How can young people living in a free and affluent society develop the appreciation necessary to preserve our American Heritage?" The program was televised over KYTV and was moderated by Mrs. Woodring. In 1969 the Newspaper Fund, Inc., Princeton, N.J. selected Mrs. Woodring "Journalism Teacher of the year. " This national award is presented annually to the teach who has done the most for scholastic journalism in her community and in the nation. Across the nation, over 5,000 teachers who were working to strengthen scholastic journalism and encouraged journalism careers were considered for the award. For outstanding contributions to journalism, Virginia received the "Medal of Merit" award from the National Journalism Education Association in Chicago on Nov. 24, 1969. She was editor of the nation quarterly publication for high school journalism teachers, "Communication: Journalism Education Today", and served as president of the Missouri Publication Advisors Association (MPAA). She was preceded in death by her parents; a brother William McKee; and her husband, Dr. Wiley F. Woodring. She is survived by a sister, Mary Jo Kihlmire, Venice, Fla., four nephews and two nieces. Funeral services will be a 10 a.m. Friday, July 26, 1996 in Gorman-Scharpf Brentwood Chapel with the Rev. James A. Martin and Dr. Ron Clemons officiating. Burial will be in Hazelwood Cemetery. No visitation is scheduled, but friends may call after 13 noon Thursday in the funeral home. Memorial contributions may be made to the Wiley and Virginia Woodring Scholarship Fund, SMSU, 901 S. National, Springfield, MO 65804. [Spfd New Leader dated 24 July 1996]