Virginia Bright, 102, of Lincoln, died on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020.
Visitation will be held Wednesday, March 11, from 10:30 to 11 a.m. at the First Baptist Church in Lincoln, 101 Broadway Street. A memorial service will follow, beginning at 11 a.m. at the church. Burial will be held in Evergreen Cemetery in Bloomington. Fricke-Calvert-Schrader Funeral Home of Lincoln is assisting the family.
Mrs. Bright was born Nov. 7, 1917, in rural Irving, to Carl E. and Ruby L. (Lyerla) Carriker. She married Walter Bright on June 23, 1940, at the Irving Christian Church, and he preceded her in death in 2001 after more than 60 years of marriage.
Her father lost his life in the service of his country when she was an infant. She was raised by her mother in the home of her maternal grandparents, Edward “Doc” and Nancy Lyerla of rural Irving. She attended school in Irving and graduated from Hilltop High School in Hillsboro in 1935.
Mrs. Bright continued her studies at Illinois State Normal University, graduating in 1939. She met her husband at a dance while she was a student at ISNU.
During her career, she taught fifth and sixth grades at the Irving School during the 1939-1940 school year. She also taught Morse Code at Scott Field during World War II, but most of her life was spent as a homemaker.
Following the war, Mrs. Bright and her family lived in Belleville briefly and later in Bloomington. Her husband then resumed his career as a high school science teacher, teaching five years at Fisher High School and 18 years at Princeton High School. Following retirement, she and her husband moved to Lincoln to be closer to their daughters.
In recent years, she struggled with severely diminished vision, but she had a very agile mind and loved the challenge of word puzzles, continuing to work on them with the help of her daughters until the very end of her life. She also loved music, enjoyed reading before her vision failed, volunteered in the White Cross program at First Baptist Church of Princeton, and was an avid golfer until the age of 79, when she became the full-time caretaker for her ill husband.
Mrs. Bright was a woman of deep spiritual faith and placed her trust in her Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. She was the oldest living member of her family and of First Baptist Church of Lincoln, and was an inspiration to all who knew her.
She is survived by her daughters, Helene (Jerry) Bales of Lincoln and Peggy Weinberg of Champaign; four grandchildren, Patrick (Melora) Bales of Peotone, Jeremy Bales of Lincoln, Brent (Rachel) Weinberg of Peach Tree Corners, GA, and Lindsay (Brian) Buchalski of Bolingbrook; six great-grandchildren, Dylan Bales of Peotone, Grace, Samuel, Eve and Anna Weinberg, all of Peach Tree Corners, GA, and Chase Buchalski of Bolingbrook; and her beloved cousin, Nancy Spinner of Hillsboro.
In addition to her husband, Mrs. Bright was preceded in death by her parents; and son-in-law, Rick Weinberg.
Memorials may be directed to the First Baptist Church of Lincoln.
Online condolences to the family may be left at www.calvertmemorial.com.
