On Sunday, Aug. 26th, Virginia Wall Wakefield, 87, of Walkertown, N.C., devoted wife, mother and grandmother, went home to be with the Lord she loved and served faithfully all her life.
Virginia was born on Christmas morning, 1924, to Robert and Arkie Wall in Hickman County, Tenn. At the age of four, Virginia moved with her family to Rison, Ark. She was educated in the Cleveland Country schools. After graduating from Rison High School in 1942, Virginia enrolled in the Warner Brown School of Nursing in El Dorado, Ark., completing the registered nurses training in 1944 with the highest average in the state on the State Board Exam. During the closing days of WWII, she served her country as an Army Cadet Nurse in Kentucky.
Having accepted Christ as her Savior at the age of 12, Virginia dedicated her life to foreign missions. She attended Washington Bible College, the Summer Institute of Linguistics (Wycliffe) and Columbia Bible College. Virginia married Richard Wakefield on Christmas Eve, 1947.
Richard and Virginia worked as church planters and educators for many years in the Amazon region of Brazil and later in Castries, St. Lucia, first with South American Indian Mission and later with Baptist Mid-Missions.
Virginia’s passions were women’s ministries, children’s Bible clubs, community nursing, teaching public health classes at the Seminario Batista do Amazonas in Manaus and her cherished rose garden.
In 1982, Virginia and Richard retired from the foreign mission field but remained active in various ministries in the Winston-Salem area.
Virginia was a long-time member of Union Grove Baptist Church in Lexington, N.C. and more recently Northwoods Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Virginia was predeceased by her husband, Richard Wakefield; her parents, Robert and Arkie Wall; and siblings, Edward Wall, Ruby Anderson, Jewel Puckett and Elsie Narstadt.
She will be greatly missed by her children, Alfred Wakefield (Ely), of the home, Philip Wakefield (Sherrie), of Florence, Ala., Virginia Hinson (Wayne), of Greensboro, N.C., Rebecca McKnight, of Hixson, Tenn., Paul Wakefield (Kathy), of Gilcrest, Colo., John Wakefield (Gloria), of Walkertown, N.C., and David Wakefield (Blanca), of Charlotte, N.C.; 17 grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; sisters, Hazel Simms and Geneva Emerson; and brothers, Glenn Wall and Raymond Wall.
The family greeted friends from 6-8 p.m. on Tuesday night at Davidson Funeral Home, 858 Hickory Tree Road, Winston-Salem, NC 27127. A service of remembrance was held at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday at Union Grove Baptist Church, 2295 Union Grove Road, Lexington, NC 27295.
The family requests that memorials be made to Baptist Mid-Missions (PO Box 308011, Cleveland, OH 44130-8011) for the Seminario Batista do Amazonas or to ABWE (PO Box 8585, Harrisburg, PA 17105-8585) for the ministry of Peter Wakefield, Union Grove Baptist Church or Northwoods Baptist Church.
Davidson Funeral Home, Hickory Tree Chapel is assisting the family.
Online condolences may be made at davidsonfuneralhome.net.
