Exeter, NH – Virginia Clark Callahan died peacefully December 28, surrounded by her family, friends and the wonderful care team at Riverwoods Exeter who so lovingly looked after her in her later years. She lived in Amherst from 1960-1986 and always thought of it as home.
Ginny was a schoolteacher, a wife, a mother, a lifelong volunteer for important causes and a lover of many activities out-of-doors. As a teacher, she believed that some of the brightest students are those who see things differently and therefore learn differently. A pioneer in teaching students with dyslexia, she participated in developing curricula and testing for early diagnosis and improved student outcomes. She was deeply committed to her students, and to helping the world appreciate the incredible talents of people who see and learn differently. She taught in public schools in Abington, PA, Kent, OH and Amherst, MA as well as the Lab School at the University of Chicago and the Pilot School in Wilmington, DE. She graduated from the College of Wooster and Kent State University.
Ginny also believed deeply in the importance of nonprofits and charities. Her later volunteer activities included leadership roles in New London, NH at the New London Garden Club (president), the Community Garden at Tracy Library, New London Hospital (board) and the John Hay Estate at The Fells.
Virginia Clark was the daughter of Rufus Ward Clark and Elvira Walls. She married her high school sweetheart John Callahan (d. 2010) in Scotch Plains, New Jersey. They became New Englanders a few years after they married, living for many years in Amherst, Massachusetts, followed by a brief respite in the “Deep South” of southeastern Pennsylvania and Delaware and then in New London, New Hampshire where they enjoyed their not-really-retirement with a close-knit group of friends, a contingent of whom landed with Ginny at Riverwoods Exeter.
Ginny’s daughter Laura died in 2021 (m. John Dalton; granddaughter Kelsey [p. Ian Morrison, great granddaughter Thea], and grandson Reed, all based in Australia); her son Clark (m. Thera Spiegel Callahan; granddaughters Katherine [verl. Tyler Wark 2026] and Claire) lives and works between Massachusetts and Vermont.
Services were private. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Riverwoods Employee Appreciation Fund, Riverwoods Exeter, or any worthwhile charitable organization.
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