Gladwin County MI Archives Obituaries.....PRESIDO, VIRGINIA May 12, 2003 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/mi/mifiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Thomas Ladner tomdladner@yahoo.com May 13, 2008, 8:10 am Gladwin County Record dated 05-21/2003 Column - 5 Page - 2 VIRGINIA PRESIDO Virginia Presido, age 88, of Beaverton passed away Monday, May 12, 2003. Surviving are her husband of 64 years, Adolph; two daughters, Linda (Anthony) Cabose of Lansing and Anne (Robert) VanOrden of San Bernadino, California; three grandchildren, Gregory Cabose of East Lansing, Carol (Joseph) David of Grand Rapids and Sloan (Amy) Presido of Eugene, Oregon; three great- grandchildren, Josie Parker and Cameron David of Grand Rapids; and two sisters, Beatrice Clark of St. Charles and Ella Tippin of Lake Wales, Florida. She was born in South Branch, Michigan on March 28, 1915 and was named Virginie Mae by parents Charles and Martha Berry. "Virgie" was the third of six siblings for whom farm life provided a strong work ethic. Their mother shared a love of books, reading to her children and teaching them to recite poetry. Virgie was inspired to seek education goals beyond what seemed possible. Passing the county exams for eighth grade completion she set her spirits on high school. There was no high school in South Branch, so Virgie went to live with her aunt in Albany, Indiana where she completed the ninth, tenth and eleventh grades. She returned to Michigan and worked for room and board in Tawas City, while completing the 12th grade. Encouraged by her mother, she enrolled in the Ogemaw County Normal Program in West Branch, a one-year post high school teacher training program. She entered the teaching profession in 1934, at the age of 19, and didn't leave it until age 68. Her first teaching position at the Burtun F. Tefft School in Fremont Township was gained on the strenght of her ability to play the piano, so she was grateful for the farm fresh eggs her mother had traded for piano lessons. She earned $60 a month for teaching grades one through eight and doing the janitorial work. The following year she was hired to teach grades one through eight in another one-room school in Brady Center in Saginaw County for a monthly pay of $100. The pay increase enabled her to begin college classes offered by the College of Education at Mt. Pleasant. She married Adolph Presido on May 6, 1939, and continued to teach until the birth of their first child. By 1943, she was a Navy wife with a husband on a destroyer somewhere in the Pacific. In 1943, she was hired on a war emergency teaching certificate to teach fifth grade in St. Charles. Due to fuel rationing, the rural half-day kindergartners didn't go home on the bus until the end of the day. Four of them joined the 50 students in Mrs. Presido's fifth grade. In 1947, following the birth of their second child, the family moved to Beaverton where she taught from 1953 to 1983. She completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education and earned credits towards a Masters degree from Central Michigan University before retiring with 40 years of experience in education. From beginning teacher to veteran educator, she believed that all children can learn given the right learning environment and support. She encouraged her students to explore who they are and guided and supported them to strive for personal success. She was a member of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Edenville. Funeral services were held Thursday, May 15 at the Hall Funeral Home in Beaverton with Pastor Russell Thomas presiding. Interment was at the Beaverton Cemetery. The family requests memorials be made to the Beaverton Branch of the Gladwin County Library. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/mi/gladwin/obits/p/presido4513gob.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/mifiles/ File size: 4.1 Kb