CORREA

VIRGINIA (MILLER)

Born in Topeka, KS, during the Great Depression, Virginia Correa lived every moment of nine decades as a world traveler, homemaker, and computer analyst – and as a wife, mother of six, grandmother of 13 and great-grandmother of four.

Following her April 1958, "marriage by proxy" in Topeka that caused a stir and extended media coverage, Virginia finalized her vows in May with husband Hector Correa in his native Ecuador, where she stayed and became a mother of two, Pablo and Blanca. The family then moved to Chile, where Diego was born, on to Europe for a stay in Holland before having another son, Juan Francisco, in France. The family then returned to the U.S. (Topeka), where Carlos was born, and finally Detroit and New Orleans, before settling in Pittsburgh in 1970 and rounding out the family with Mark.

Virginia embraced every opportunity to experience the world. She traveled extensively throughout North America, Europe, Asia, the Caribbean, and the Middle East, visiting many of the world's most treasured landmarks and historic sites. She approached each journey with enthusiasm and a lifelong love of learning, often accompanying Hector, a renowned professor with the University of Pittsburgh, as he taught around the globe before his unexpected death in 2004.

In 1980, Virginia earned her Master of Library Science degree and began working for the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Virginia played a key role in one of the library system's most significant technological transformations. As a technology leader, she helped modernize library operations, guiding the transition from manual circulation systems and date stamps to computerized cataloging and digital checkout processes

Virginia's literal and figurative travels from small-town Kansas not far removed from the Dust Bowl to becoming fluent in three languages while raising a burgeoning family across three continents, balancing the chores of packing lunches and making dinner with re-engineering Pittsburgh's library system and surviving a pancreatic cancer diagnosis, served as an example of strength and self-assuredness to all who knew her.

Born June 6, 1935, Virginia passed away Aug. 16, 2026. She is survived and loved by her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and by her sister, Janis, of Nebraska, and her brother, David, of Finland – and all of their families.

Family and friends will be received on THURSDAY from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the ROBERT P. KARISH FUNERAL HOME (JOBE FH CHAPEL), 118 Shaw Ave., Turtle Creek, PA 15145. 412-271-3430. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday at 10:00 a.m. at St. Joseph the Worker Parish, (formerly St. Maurice Church), 2001 Ardmore Blvd., Pittsburgh, PA 15221. In lieu of flowers, please consider contributing to the Allegheny County Library Association (www.aclalibraries.org) or your local branch library.

www.robertpkarishfh.com