Virginia Catherine Alison Welford

Virginia Catherine Alison Welford passed away at age 66 after a diagnosis of multiple myeloma. She was born March 19, 1956, in Redruth, Cornwall, England to James and Dorothy Welford, the third of four daughters. In 1962 the family moved to the U.S. finally settling in Weston Massachusetts. She always loved reading, especially science fiction. She graduated from Weston High School in 1974 as an Honor Society student where she was on the fencing team and sang in the choir. She received a Bachelor of Science in Plant Pathology from the University of Massachusetts in 1978 and then worked at Connecticut Valley Biological Supply Company where she revamped the greenhouse to grow plants for sale to science classes. In 1984 she received a Master of Science in Water Resource Management from the University of Michigan and then worked for 22 years at the Arizona Department of Water Resources in Tucson in the municipal water conservation and assured water supply programs. Her daughter, Olivia was born in Tucson in 1997 and filled her with joy and wonderment. She hiked and went camping with her daughter, showing her the beauty of the world in all its seasons. Her interests besides raising her daughter were hiking, (she hiked the Grand Canyon several times), permaculture and botany, the healing art including yoga, Shintaido (she was a member of Shintaido of America) and Jin Shin Jyutsu and she taught group fitness classes. She also taught her sister Jane to grow her own Kombucha. Her love of science fiction continued as she taped every episode of Star Trek on VHS and then dated the tapes by Star Date, rather than the date they aired. Virginia loved singing and was active in the Tucson singing group Mzekala for over 10 years, singing Balkan and Croatian folk songs and performing at Tucson Meet Yourself and other venues. After retirement she and Olivia moved to Kansas, and then to Vermont to be close to family where she enjoyed hiking and singing in the choir at the local church. She is survived by her beloved daughter Olivia Dorothy Rain Welford, her sisters Sheila Delport, Jane Welford and Mary Welford (Brian Sawyer) and nieces Elizabeth Naughton and Annie Elfing and nephews Aland Welford, Tolemy Kneally, Andrew Alden, Evan Sawyer and Reed Sawyer. She was predeceased by her parents James and Dorothy Welford, her sister Gabrielle Welford and her niece, Sinead Welford. There will be a remembrance on Saturday July 9 at 6:00 p.m. at the Murray Hill Condominiums pool house. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made in Virginia's memory to the Green Mountain Club or urbanrescueranch.com. To send the family personal condolences, please visit www.sheafuneralhomes.com.