Virginia Faye (Christensen) Keville

SALEM - Virginia Faye Keville (nee Christensen) left us on October 22nd. She passed peacefully at home with family in attendance. She was ninety-one years old.

She was born in Mount Pleasant, Utah and over the course of her life lived in Maryland, Hawaii, New Hampshire, Illinois, and Massachusetts.

Virginia held a baccalaureate degree in Biology from the University of Maryland at College Park and a masters degree in Biology and Education from Boston University. She was a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority. Over the course of her varied career she taught Biology and Chemistry at Saint Chretienne Academy in Salem, Massachusetts and Biology at Salem State College. One of her areas of specialization was the development of teaching tools that addressed specific student learning models to improve comprehension. She was the co-founder of Salem State College's critically acclaimed Darwin Festival held every February. She retired as full professor in 1999.

Virginia, Ginger to her friends and family, was ahead of her time in the study of nutrition and exercise. An avid swimmer, early adopter of aerobic dance and Pilates, she participated in body composition studies. She was a supporter of the Peabody Essex Museum, the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, the Audubon Society, and, of course, the Darwin Festival. An enthusiastic traveler and reconciled camper, with family often the center of her life, she was the organizer and coordinator for any adventure. An amateur gardener later in life, she had a daylily named after her: “Ginger’s Sunrise”. Two of her favorite hobbies were knitting and watching sports, tennis in particular.

Virginia was preceded in death by her husband, Richard, her parents, Lee Ross and Eva Christensen, her sisters Mary Jane Parent and Sally MacArthur, and her brother Lee Christensen. She leaves behind her sisters, Ruth Klass of Sacramento, CA and Dorothy Smith of Centerville, OH, her four children, Elizabeth, of Charleston, WV, Kurt (Lauren) of Somerville, MA, Conrad of Scottsdale, AZ and his partner Courtney Frisch, and Eva Palmer of Salem, MA and one grandson, Duncan Palmer (Chelsea) of Spencer, MA.

ARRANGEMENTS: The family will gather privately to honor her life. Memorial contributions may be made to The Darwin Festival c/o the Biology Department, Salem State University or the Audubon Society, an organization close to Ginger's heart. Assisting the family with the arrangements is O’Donnell Cremations – Funerals – Celebrations, 84 Washington Sq., (at Salem Common) SALEM. To share a memory or offer a condolence, please visit www.odonnellfuneralservice.com.