Article by Gwen Jones, Department of Family Services
(Posted 2026 March)
Edwyna Wingo has always been a people person, eager to meet strangers, get involved and lend a helping hand. Her natural inclination to serve her community led to a successful career as a public health nurse. It also caused her to devote much of her free time to community service. Her care for others and desire to connect has resulted in a wide social circle and happy life.
Edwyna Wingo was born at the University of Virginia Hospital in Charlottesville, VA, and raised in the small rural community of Mitchells, VA, located in Culpeper County. Her parents, Eloise and Buck, ran the general store in town, which was previously owned by Edwyna’s maternal grandfather. An only child, Edwyna began working in her parents’ store at a young age, greeting and waiting on customers. “That’s where I learned how to write my name and how to add and subtract numbers. My granddaddy would write the prices down on a brown paper bag and say, add it up for the customer. And that was even before I went to school,” she recalls.
Edwyna’s parents were very involved in the community and instilled a sense of service in her at an early age. Eloise was chairman of the American Red Cross bloodmobile volunteers. “I guess that’s where I cut my teeth on being a volunteer because as soon as I was old enough to safely carry a plate of cookies or cups of orange juice to people, my mother had me working,” Edwyna says.
Very early on, Edwyna knew that she wanted to be a nurse. Her decision was influenced by her aunt, a nurse who often visited the family and gifted her nursing textbooks to her niece. Edwyna remembers poring over the pictures in her aunt’s medical and anatomy books, fascinated by them. Her first experience of nursing came when she was 12 years old, helping to care for her grandmother at the end of her life. During this time, Edwyna learned how to give a bed bath and change the sheets while her grandmother was in bed.
During high school, Edwyna worked two summers as an aide at the University of Virginia Hospital. During this time, she was able to observe the work of a hospital and perform tasks such as taking patients’ vital signs, giving them baths, and feeding them. After graduating from Culpeper High School, Edwyna spent the summer before college working at Culpeper County’s new hospital. Knowing that she planned to study nursing in college, the doctors would invite her to observe during emergencies, allowing her to witness medical procedures like the delivery of a baby.
Edwyna attended Longwood College (now Longwood University) for two years before transferring to the University of Virginia (UVA). At that time, UVA was still an all-male university, but female nursing students could transfer in from other liberal arts schools in Virginia. While at UVA, Edwyna joined the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority and became very involved in the organization. She graduated in 1964 with a Bachelor of Science in nursing.
Edwyna’s first job after college was at the University of Virginia Hospital, but she eventually grew tired of the long shifts. Wanting a job with regular work hours, she went into home health, visiting and caring for patients in their homes. Her territory covered a third of Albermarle County and a third of the city of Charlottesville. She enjoyed her work, especially teaching families how to care for their loved ones. During this time, she remained active with her sorority, serving as general advisor to the chapter at UVA.
In September 1965, Edwyna moved to Fairfax County and began a new job as a public health nurse with the Virginia Department of Health. Her territory, covering what is now all of Burke, was mostly rural at that time. “We had a lot of farmland. We had a lot of cattle and horses and dairy farms. Many of the roads weren’t paved,” she recalls. Edwyna enjoyed her job, which consisted of visiting families and working at public health clinics and three elementary schools. After a year, she was promoted into the role of public health nursing supervisor.
During the long career that followed, Edwyna served in various roles that were often gratifying and challenging. For five years, she worked for a health department program called the Daytime Development Center. The program, serving children ages three to 21 with developmental disabilities and their families, existed before special education was available in Fairfax County Public Schools. Edwyna considers the time she worked there to be one of the most fulfilling periods of her career.
In 1974, Fairfax County began a program placing health aides in all elementary school clinics. Prior to this, school secretaries cared for sick or injured children. Edwyna was tasked with getting the program up and running. Over the period of one month, she interviewed and hired 125 people, created the curriculum for the program, and trained the staff – just in time for the first day of school. She continued to supervise the program and staff for another two years, before moving on to manage various Health Department offices throughout Fairfax County.
Soon after moving to Fairfax County, Edwyna purchased a home in the Greenbriar neighborhood in Chantilly and got involved right away, volunteering to be a block captain representing the residents of her community. She also joined the Western Fairfax Zeta Tau Alpha alumni group and served as treasurer for 25 years. The group volunteered in the community, especially at local food banks. In the late 80s and early 90s, Edwyna served as district president, responsible for all the Zeta Tau Alpha alumni chapters in the state of Virginia. During the five years she was president, she enjoyed visiting chapters, meeting people and attending national conventions.
Edwyna retired in the fall of 2011 and enjoyed a full month of retirement before accepting a part-time position with the Health Department. One of her primary responsibilities is serving as coordinator for a program that provides free car seats to low-income families. The program requires parents to view videos, then attend a class, after which they leave with a new car seat. Edwyna enjoys leading the program, saying, “It’s really been rewarding to see how appreciative families are when they come to a class and leave with a car seat for their child or expected child.” She also works on other initiatives, such as the COVID-19 vaccine clinics that were held at the Government Center during the pandemic.
Edwyna’s part-time status has allowed her to travel more. She has visited friends in the U.S. and Great Britain and enjoyed a few cruises (a favorite was Alaska). However, her most memorable adventure was a two-week train trip on the Rocky Mountaineer train, traveling through the Rocky Mountains.
After 55 years of living in her home in Greenbriar, Edwyna decided it was time to downsize. She was the fourth person to select an apartment in the Woodleigh Chase Senior Living Community before construction even began. While her new home was being built, Edwyna had two years to downsize. “I thought it was going to be really hard, but I gave myself a good talking to. Am I ever going to have a dinner party for ten people? Do I need my crystal and my china and my silver? I don’t think so,” she laughs. She spent her spare time packing boxes for her move and carefully selecting what furniture to take with her. She gave her remaining possessions to family members or donated them. Edwyna finally moved into her new home in August of 2024. While she was sad to leave her neighbors, they are only 10 miles away and continue to stay in touch.
Like her long ago move to Greenbriar, Edwyna got involved soon after moving to Woodleigh Chase. She was elected to serve on the resident advisory council, working with management to address residents’ concerns. Freed from the duties of home maintenance, she has time to participate in programs and events hosted in her community, including social activities, guest lectures, and concerts. She also helped form a group called Friends at Woodleigh Chase, comprised of residents who are available to help their neighbors. “If someone is ill, we can pick up a prescription or bring a meal. We aren’t doing medical stuff; we’re just being good neighbors,” she says.
While she continues to volunteer with her sorority alumni group, Edwyna has taken on a new cause. She collects plastic and paper bags from her Woodleigh Chase neighbors and donates them to the Inova Fair Oaks Hospital Thrift Store, where staff use them to bag customers’ purchases. Because plastic bags can’t be put into recycling bins, she is giving them a new purpose and keeping them out of the landfill. Word has spread throughout her community. “They’ll laugh and say I’m the bag lady because I’ll come home and they’ll be bags sitting at the door of my apartment,” Edwyna says.
One thing that Edwyna didn’t anticipate when moving to Woodleigh Chase was just how many people from her past would be her new neighbors. She’s reconnected with a woman she went to school with, a sorority sister, and an old colleague from the Health Department. “It’s nice to have people from your former life suddenly appear in your current life,” she observes.
Now 84 years old, Edwyna plans to continue working as long as she can. Looking back, she is grateful for her good life. “I’m happy with the way my life has gone. I have no regrets. I’ll go to my grave knowing I’ve done something positive for the world here in Fairfax County,” she says.
This article is part of the Golden Gazette monthly newsletter which covers a variety of topics and community news concerning older adults and caregivers in Fairfax County. Are you new to the Golden Gazette? Don’t miss out on future newsletters! Subscribe to get the electronic or free printed version mailed to you. Have a suggestion for a topic? Share it in an email or call 703-324-GOLD (4653).