Virginia Davis Baggett was born in Clearfield, PA August 22, 1934. She was the daughter of William T. and Jane (Carmack) Davis and a member of the Clearfield Presbyterian Church. She Attended Clearfield public schools, graduated from The Baldwin School in Bryn Mawr, PA, class of 1952, and from Mt. Holyoke College, MA, class of 1956 with a B.A. Degree in botany.
Upon graduation she worked for the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research in Yonkers, NY and then worked for 7 years in the Standards Control Dept. of Burroughs-Wellcome (now Glaxo Smith Kline Pharmaceuticals) until her marriage to Bruce Baggett in 1963.
While living in Westchester County, NY, she took an active interest in Girl Scouting, both as a leader and Service Team Chairman. Also during this time she began to pursue art as a career and took courses toward a master’s degree in art history at Hunter College in NYC where she studied with the minimalist painter Ad Reinhardt. Silkscreen printmaking became a principal interest and she studied this medium under the tutelage of New Hampshire printmaker Nancy Nemec.
“Ginny,” as she became known professionally, launched her art career in New York with a number of solo exhibitions, one of which was the Panoras Gallery on Madison Avenue in NYC. She was given a contract with the Donald Art Company and many of her works were reproduced for magazines such as Woman’s Day and various decorating publications.
After her return to Clearfield with her husband and two children Paige and Tim, she became a charter member of the Friends of the Palmer Museum of Art in State College and served on the board of that organization for 6 years. She became a juried artist at the Central PA Festival of Art for 20 years winning both a Merit award and Invited Artist Status prior to retiring from exhibiting there. She was a member of the Susquehanna River Art Center in Clearfield for more than 25 years and served as Exhibition Chairman for that organization as well as fulfilling many other capacities. Her work has been shown in many local galleries such as the Artisan Connection in State College, the Gallery Shop in Lemont, Art 4 in Hollidaysburg, and the Winkler Gallery of Fine Art in DuBois where she was a juried member of the artists' co-op.
Ginny has also been a member of the Pittsburgh Print Group, the Miriam Perlman Gallery in Chicago, and the North Village Gallery in Warren, PA. Exhibitions of her work include several at Penn State such as the Kern Graduate Center, Hetzel Union Building Gallery and the Mary Smeal Gallery in Dubois. She has had exhibits at the Borelli-Edwards Gallery in Pittsburgh, the Hershey Medical Center Rotunda, the Gamble Mill Gallery in Bellefonte, the Prendergast Free Library in Jamestown, NY, the Schlow Memorial Library in State College, and Paterno Library at Penn State. Her work is in many public and private collections such as the Hillman Foundation, Blue Cross of Western PA, Golba Associates of Design in Pittsburgh, Warren Public Library and Lebanon Valley College.
In addition to her work as a silkscreen printmaker, Ginny and her husband had operated the historic bed and breakfast Christopher Kratzer House in Clearfield from 1991 until they moved to Clearwater, FL in November 2011.
She is a member of the DAR and has served in the office of historian for the Dubois/Susquehanna Chapter since its 2003 merger.
She is survived by her husband, Bruce, their daughter Paige Riggins of Orlando, FL, son Timothy Baggett of South Pasadena, CA, and two grandchildren, Austin and Baylee Riggins of Alexandria, VA and a step-granddaughter, Izzy Alvarez.
Mrs. Baggett passed away March 10, 2015 in Clearwater, FL.
A Celebration of Life Service will be held on Saturday, June 27, 2015 at 2PM at the Clearfield Presbyterian Church, 119 N. 2Nd Street, Clearfield, PA 16830 with Rev. J. Robert Mellgard officiating. There will be a time of receiving of friends at a light luncheon following the service. Interment was in the Hillcrest Cemetery, Clearfield.
Memorial contributions may be made to charity of donor’s choice.
To send online tributes go to www.bennettandhouser or www.mem.com .