Lee Packard

Virginia Lee Hill (Andrews) Packard passed on December 8th, 2023, in the home and in the presence of her son and daughter-in-law, Daniel Andrews and Adina Maynard.

Her biographical legacy is vast and varied. She was born in Petersburg, Virginia, on March 12, 1942 to Viriginia Thompson Hill and John Sanford Hill, Sr. (The telegram from her mother to her father, who was serving in World War 2, announcing her birth is a treasured keepsake.) She was the oldest of 5, and her parents and siblings settled in Culpeper, Virgina, where she finished high school (Culpeper County High) as valedictorian in 1960, alongside many people that became lifelong friends. She attended Westhampton Women’s College (now part of the University of Richmond), graduating in 1964. She married David W. Andrews, Sr. (of Greenwood, South Carolina, and a pilot for both the Air National Guard and the Air Force) that same month. She moved, with Major Andrews, to Ft. Worth, Texas, where she gave birth to Dave Jr in 1965.  The family then moved to Birmingham, Alabama where she gave birth to Daniel in 1967. She spent most of 1968-1970 in Culpeper, near family and friends, while her husband served in Viet Nam, and then moved to Sumter, South Carolina, when Major Andrews was stationed at Shaw Air Force Base. The family attended, and held memberships at Shaw Heights Baptist Church. They lived there until 1976, when the family moved to the suburbs of Columbia, South Carolina, and she remained there after her divorce in 1985, attending Temple Baptist Church during most of that time. In 1988, with both sons in college, she went to work for the US Department of Defense, as a teacher for their Dependent Schools (DoDDS), and moved to the Philippines, then Japan, then Scotland, England, and Germany, spending summers between school years in and around Culpeper, Virginia, visiting her aging parents and extended family and friends up and down the eastern seaboard, and renewing her membership at Culpeper Baptist Church.  She retired from teaching school in 2005, and settled again in Culpeper, where she remained until her marriage to Al Packard, of Orange, Virginia, in 2014 when she moved with him to his home, and later an apartment, in Orange. She held her membership at Lignum Baptist Church in Lignum, Virginia, while playing piano most Sundays for Trinity United Methodist in Orange. Al passed on September 4th, 2023, after a long illness, and Lee settled into an assisted living facility that she and Al had chosen, in Columbia, South Carolina to be near her son Daniel and his wife, Adina. Her health started to fail rapidly, and she passed while sleeping on the morning of December 8th.

Her relational legacy is equally vast, and was an example, a shining beacon even, for others in her world. The list of people that she impacted would, by necessity, be both long and incomplete, so describing the wide arc of the relationships that she managed to maintain will, hopefully, be sufficient. People who knew her even a little were amazed at her ability to stay in touch with, and continue strong relationships with, people from every phase of her life. Classmates from Culpeper County High and Westhampton, fellow students and professors of her first husband’s stint at Southwestern Theological Seminary, the officers and officers’ wives from her time at Shaw AFB, church members from Temple Baptist and Shandon Baptist, and untold numbers of coworkers and neighbors from her time at DoDDs will attest that her new friends never replaced her old friends, and that she had a gift for including everyone. Those around her particularly appreciated her willingness to stay close to those that she had once been, but was no longer, connected to by marriage. In Orange, Al’s circle quickly became her circle, and his and her friendships became THEIR friendships. A testament to the closeness of her friendships with her peers is seen in the fact that many of the children and grandchildren of her closest friends and family count her as a strong influence and trusted confidante.

Her intellectual legacy was lifelong, and surely will continue to bear fruit over the coming decades and generations. The daughter of a schoolteacher, she both taught and was a student multiple times in her life. She also frequently sought out mentors at the schools and institutions at which she found herself, to continue to broaden her academic understanding and her people skills. Her primary teaching stints were at Shaw Heights Elementary School, adjacent to Shaw AFB, and her many years with DoDDs. She was awarded Master’s Degrees from both the University of South Carolina and the University of Virginia, and her pursuit of a Ph.D. was only interrupted by her decision to get married at the age of 72.

Her spiritual legacy in the most significant, and the most enduring, as it will have eternal results for those that she touched. Raising children, working, earning advanced degrees, and pursuing her friendships never got in the way of her spiritual commitments and her gifted spiritual encouragement and leadership; indeed, these were some of her best areas of ministry. She was the church pianist at almost every church she was a member of, and at many that she wasn’t. She led the development of faith-based early-childhood programs and curricula at multiple churches in the southeast. She led many to Christ, and supported those whose walk faltered while gently redirecting their focus back to Christ and the Holy Spirit. Near the end, in one of the moments in which her voice was strong and clear, she thanked God for her son, and for her salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ.

She is survived by her son Daniel Andrews and his wife Adina Maynard, along with her sister AnneSchreiner (and Anne’s husband Clyde), her brother Billy (and Billy’s wife Lynne), and her brother Jack (and Jack’s wife Carolyn), along with their children and grandchildren. Her husband, mother, father, son Dave Jr., and sister Jean all passed before her.

A memorial service for both Lee Packard and her husband Al Packard will be held at Trinity United Methodist Church in Orange, Virginia on January 20th, 2024, at 2pm. (Please confirm the exact time at the website you are currently on, prior to January 20th.)