Rebecca Mcgovern

Rebecca Cash Lee McGovern of Danville and Albemarle County, Virginia, died peacefully in her sleep on August 19, 2017, at 107 years of age.  Her passing represents the end of an era.  She was born on May 29, 1910, at Windie Knowe in Albemarle County, the daughter of Warren Stone Lee and Elizabeth Isabel Minor Lee.  Her youth was spent in Albemarle County and St. Thomas, Virgin Islands with her father, the first US postmaster in the Virgin Islands, and her stepmother, Virginia Miller Lee.  She graduated as a registered nurse from the University of Virginia School of Nursing in 1932 and married Dr. Francis Henry McGovern at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Ivy on February 7, 1936.  She moved to Danville, Virginia with her husband where she became the doyenne of civic, cultural, and social life.  The McGovern’s only child, Francis Edward McGovern, II, was born on November 4, 1945.   Rebecca McGovern was active with the Danville Garden Club and the Garden Club of Virginia, serving in a variety of elected positions and winning numerous awards for the flowers she raised and for her horticultural endeavors.  She was president of the Wednesday Club and the Danville Parent-Teacher Association.  She served on the boards of the Danville Community College and Stratford University and was awarded an honorary degree from DCC.  She chaired the City Beautiful Committee and led Danville to win numerous state and national awards in civic conservation and beautification.  She was also active in its politics, co-chairing the 1980 Reagan-Bush campaign, saving Ballou Park, and sponsoring numerous gardens, fountains, and parks in Danville.  Rebecca was a fully engaged congregant member of The Episcopal Church of the Epiphany, serving as President and member of the Women’s Auxiliary for over 50 years.  She epitomized the ideal of contributing to the community in which she lived. An avid sportswoman, she won numerous golf tournaments at the Danville Golf Club and Farmington Country Club and donated a perpetual trophy for the Keswick Horse Show.  She was a member of the Magna Carta Dames, the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America, and the Daughters of the American Revolution.  She donated the Francis H. and Rebecca L. McGovern Professorship in the Department of Otolaryngology at the University of Virginia Medical School and an endowed scholarship at the Danville Community College.  Above all, she was a devoted and caring wife and mother, mentoring and nurturing many young people and educating them in the finest Virginia traditions.     Her beloved husband predeceased Rebecca McGovern on July 9, 1985.  She is survived by her son and his wife, Kathryn V. McGovern; her “almost” son, Whittington W. Clement; three grandchildren, F. Henry McGovern, II, Elizabeth M. Brann, and Clare M. Lewis; two step grandchildren, Carl Hungerford and Laura McNealey; three great-grandchildren, Isabelle and Madeleine Brann, and Colston Lewis; two godchildren, David Eustis and Minor Lee Marston; two caregivers, Brenda Valentine and Faye Davis; and generations of Virginians who have cherished having her touch their lives.     A memorial service will be held at The Episcopal Church of the Epiphany, 115 Jefferson Avenue, on Sunday September 17, 2017 at 11:30AM.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Rebecca L. McGovern Garden Club of Danville Scholarship Fund, Attention: Shannon L. Hair, Vice-President of Institutional Advancement & Development, Danville Community College Educational Foundation, 1008 South Main Street, Danville, VA 24541.