Virgie Lee Winn Irving was the third born to Acil and Eddie A.(Thomas) Winn. Born on October 17, 1933 in Summit Oklahoma. She departed this earth April 27, 2024.

Her religious foundation was established at First Baptist Church, Summit, OK. In her adulthood she later attended and worked at Bethel AME Church where she taught Sunday School and was the onsite Trustee Board. After the church closed, she returned to her roots in the Baptist Church and joined Rayfield Baptist Church until her health began to fail. From there, she watched services faithfully online.

In 1956 she married Nathaniel Charles Irving and to this union five children were born. Natalia, Arlea, Kimberly, Valerie and Charlotte. Due to foreseen health issues Natalia and Arlea died in infancy. After 16 years the marriage dissolved in 1972.

She matriculated at Dubois School in Summit, Ok (1952) where she advanced a grade and graduated Valedictorian of her class. She later went on to attend and received her Bachelor degree from Langston University. This is also where she crossed into Delta-Land via Beta Upsilon Chapter (1954). She graduated with honors in 1956 with a Bachelors in Math and Minored in Business. She later obtained her Master's Degree from Northeastern in 1959. In 1961 she attended OSU on a National Science Fellowship and later attended OU in 1962-1963 as a Merit Scholar.

Her first teaching job was in Rentiesville, OK. She later taught in Haskell, OK where she also taught typing. She taught 8th grade Math at Irving Elementary in Maywood, IL (1970-1971). Later, she moved to Dayton, OH where she taught a year at Booker T. Washington High School. During desegregation she moved to Belmont High School where she taught 9 years of Math before returning to Oklahoma. 30 years of service in the Muskogee Public Schools and 7 years at various smaller schools at the start of her career. She was known as no nonsense teacher who had the nose of a blood hound. Anyone who had her in class could tell you stories about her sniffing out the flavor of the gum or candy that you were eating and then make you spit it out and write a 1000 word essay on why you should not be eating in her classroom and then grade it for syntax and sentence structure.

During her teaching career she received many awards and various citations of service and sponsor many organizations. She took her Mathcount team to competition and won. She received Congressional Recognition for individual services, volunteer with the Habitat for Humanities, she and two others started the Delta After School tutoring program she was also nominated for Teacher of the Year and she taught an Adult Education. She touched the lives of many young people and was not concerned about being popular but she did believe in education and her responsibilities as an educator.

Leaving to celebrate her life, Kimberly (Irving) Cooper, Norman, OK; Valerie (Irving) Mays (Franklin) Norman, OK; Charlotte (Irving) Jefferson Muskogee, OK; six grandchildren, Thomas, Mikell (Kim), Evan, Kayla, Kiara and Kollin, six great-grandchildren, Marley, Anna, Judah, Kassidy, Jayden and Amalia.

She leaves her sister Imogene Edwards, Wichita, KS and her brother David Winn Sr., Muskogee, OK; and a host of nieces and nephews.

A Home Going Celebration is scheduled Saturday, May 4, 2024, 3:00 p.m., Rayfield Baptist Church, 601 Indianapolis Street, Muskogee, OK; with Pastor Leroy Walker, Sr. delivering the eulogy.  Interment will follow in Booker T. Washington Cemetery, Muskogee, OK. Visitation will be Friday, 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. Omega Omega Service will be at 6:00 p.m.

THERE WILL BE NO VIEWING AT THE SERVICE

Service will be live-streamed via Facebook: Spiritual Sister

The family has been cared for by House of Winn-Muskogee