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Virginia Lee Toler, 72, of East Bank, WV, died January 14, 2020 following a long illness.
She was born in Charleston, WV on October 26, 1947 to William Henry Harrison Toler and Mary Lee Harmon Toler. She was a National Honor Society inductee and a member of the East Bank High School Class of 1965. In 1969, she earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Lee College (now Lee University), Cleveland, Tennessee and a Master of Arts in Elementary Education from West Virginia University in 1977. Music was her passion from childhood. She began piano lessons at the age of 5 and fulfilled her dream of becoming a music educator in a teaching career spanning 33 years in Parkersburg, WV at Marrtown Elementary and then Blennerhassett Elementary. She loved working with children and taught countless students the basics of music, inspiring many to further the musical skills she fostered. During the time at her elementary schools, she also directed multiple school music productions. In addition to her daytime teaching profession, she shared her love for the piano in the evenings through private lessons for many adults and children. She retired from the teaching profession in November 2002 and left Parkersburg in 2008 to care for her mother in East Bank.
As a devout Christian from an early age, her faith sustained her throughout her life, especially during the final years of her illness. As an accomplished pianist, she accompanied and often sang with many local singers and groups at the churches she attended, playing the piano for hundreds of church services and special church and community events over the years. While in Parkersburg, she was the primary pianist for the Full Gospel Businessmen's Fellowship for 30 years. After returning to East Bank, she continued to use her musical talent at her childhood church home, the East Bank Church of God, until shortly before her passing.
She was an avid Cincinnati Reds baseball fan and sudoku devotee and a dear friend to many. She was preceded in death by her mother and father and is survived by her brother, William Thomas Toler of Raleigh, NC and eight cousins.
The family wishes to thank all the compassionate caregivers she had during her illness: the staff at Hospice and the Hubbard House, the staff at the David Lee CAMC Cancer Center, her oncologists, Dr. Justin Cohen and Dr. Gerard Oakley, and her primary care physician, Dr. Thopsie Jagannath. The family is so appreciative of the support provided by her many friends and neighbors who shared their love and time with her during her illness. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to Hospice Hubbard House or the American Cancer Society would be appreciated.
Visitation will be held at the Pryor Funeral Home in East Bank at 1 PM on Saturday, January 18 followed by a memorial service at 2 PM.