Ida Virginia Via, 95, of Leonardtown, MD formerly of Island Creek, Calvert County, passed from this life on January 14, 2010 at St. Mary's Nursing Center after a long battle with Alzheimer's Disease.

She was born in Brunswick, MD on August 16, 1914 the daughter of Jesse Lee Woods and Mae Barker Woods. She grew up in Brunswick, Martinsburg, WV, and Washington, DC.

She married the late Robert M. Via on September 3, 1932. They had two children. They lived in Washington, DC and in the late 1940s moved to a small farm on Burch's Hill near Clinton, Prince George's County. In 1956, they moved to their farm near Island Creek where Mr. Via was engaged in tobacco and hog farming.

Mrs. Via was a wife and homemaker and also worked at various department stores in Washington, DC and the surrounding area. She was employed at various times by Lansburghs, The Hecht Co., and finally by Woodward & Lothrop (Woodies) where she worked as a desk girl in the beauty salon in their flagship store on F. Street in Washington, DC. She was promoted to assistant manager and then manager at Woodies locations in Seven Corners and Chevy Chase. She was employed for a time by the United States Postal Service in Capital Heights.

Mrs. Via retired from Woodies in 1973 and helped her husband on the farm until his death in 1983. She moved from her home in Calvert County in 1993. From 1992 until 2000, she spent over ninety weeks participating in numerous studies dealing with Alzheimer's Disease at the National Institutes of Health. She was profiled in the September 1997 issue of Washingtonian Magazine. She enjoyed gardening and crocheting, having crocheted over fifty afghans in the last years of her life. She was a homebound member of St. Thomas' Episcopal Parish, Croom and Brandywine, Prince George's County.

She was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She is survived by a half-sister Patricia M. Albright, one son, Robert D. Via of Benson, AZ, her son-in-law, Franklin A. Robinson of Serenity Farm, Benedict, MD; five grandchildren; Franklin A. Robinson, Jr., R. David Robinson, Adina T. Robinson, all of Serenity Farm: Robert M. Via of Benson and Mrs. Rene Kirstin Via Ellsworth of Tucson, AZ, four great-grandchildren; Ashlee, Virginia Larae, and Austin Robinson and Sydney Ellsworth, one great-great grandson, Jordan Bunner, and numerous nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, and daughter, Adina Mae Via Robinson.

Family will receive friends on Tuesday, January 19, 2010 from 7:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. in the Chapel of the Incarnation, 14070 Brandywine Road, Brandywine, MD. A funeral service will held at the Chapel of the Incarnation on Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. with the Rev. Ms. Debra Brewin-Wilson officiating. Interment will follow Trinity Memorial Gardens, Waldorf, MD.

Serving as pallbearers will be Perry Bowen, Graydon Lamb, Franklin Jr., David and Austin Robinson, and Robert Via. Honorary pallbearers will be Franklin Robinson, Sr. and Vincent Via.

Memorial contributions may be made to St. Thomas' Episcopal Parish for the restoration program at the Chapel of the Incarnation, 14300 St. Thomas' Church Road, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772.

Arrangements by the Brinsfield Funeral Home, P.A., Leonardtown, MD.