VIRGINIA HORSFALL ROLLINGS Hampton Virginia Horsfall Rollings of Hampton died Tuesday, June 14, 2011, at the home of her daughter after a short illness. She was 90. Born in Claremont, Virginia on February 20, 1921, to Alfred Lafayette Horsfall and Matilda Augusta Kropfganz, Virginia was a tireless community volunteer and a prominent area historian. Virginia graduated from Claremont High School in 1938 and attended a semester at the Blackstone Teachers College, eventually earning her degree in Sociology from Christopher Newport College in 1972. Virginias long and varied career included penning a weekly local history column for the Daily Press for over 18 years. She taught genealogy courses at William and Mary, Thomas Nelson, and other campuses, authoring a book on family history, and serving as director for the Retired Seniors Volunteer Program (RSVP) for 15 years. Virginia was an honored speaker at many historical societies and a founding member of the Tidewater Genealogical Society. She was respected as one of the foremost experts on the people and happenings of the Peninsula dating back to the earliest English settlement. Her encyclopedic knowledge of family history spanned the globe; Virginia had the uncanny knack of being able to reel off pedigrees and origins for just about any surname. She aided thousands of people on the Peninsula in their search for their ancestors in her role as Director of the Family History Center of the local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a call she filled for 17 years. She worked tirelessly in the community, as PTA Federation president in the 1960s, when her children attended Newport News schools. In 1999, she was elected as a delegate for the Silver Haired Legislature. Virginia found her greatest happiness in teaching. During her lifetime she taught Sunday School classes for youth and adults, and held many positions of responsibility in the church. Virginia married the late James Robert Rollings, Jr. of Surry, Virginia in 1939. She is survived by a brother, Harvey Horsfall of Hopewell; her three children: Jenna Russell (James) and Ann Wallace (Larry), both of York County, and James Robert Rollings, III (Teresa) of Sherwood, Arkansas, as well 10 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. Visitation will be from 6 to 7 PM Thursday, June 16, 2011 at W. J. Smith & Son Funeral Home. A funeral service will be held at 10 AM Friday, June 17, 2011 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 902 Denbigh Blvd, Newport News. Burial will follow in Peninsula Memorial Park. Donations can go to the Perpetual Education Fund, at www.lds.org; click Education on the menu. Please leave condolences at www.wjsmithandsonfh.com. Arrangements by W. J. Smith & Son Funeral Home.

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