Rebecca Wilburn
Rebecca S Wilburn passed from death to eternal life Wednesday, June 4, 2025 having confessed her faith in Jesus as her Lord and Savior. She was born in Giles County’s Pearisburg, Virginia on March 30, 1941 nestled in the majestic scenery of the western Appalachian section of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Her early years were greatly influenced by the love of her family and environment, all of which can probably be best described as resembling the once popular and beloved drama series TV show, The Waltons. It aired from 1972 until 1981 and was a historical drama of family life in a small-town community of rural Virginia during the hardships of the Great Depression and World War II. The setting for the show was on Walton’s Mountain, a fictional place also in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. The central theme was one reflective of the strength of a close-knit family that together weathered the storms of life during those difficult times.
Rebecca’s almost constant reading of books along with watching and attending Hollywood movies and musicals in the 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s, likely helped place her on the career path of teaching English and Drama. Perhaps, especially so when she contacted and received autographed photographs and even some personally signed letters from many of the famous movie stars during that time. She also kept all those items neatly in an album…even the envelopes! It was a standard practice in that era for Hollywood movie stars to respond to fan requests in that way.
She prepared for her life ambition of teaching by completing an undergraduate degree at Longwood College and a MA degree from the University of Virginia. Afterwards, she embarked on a 40-year teaching career primarily at Hayfield Secondary School in Alexandria, Virginia. She began teaching English Literature and Drama, but gradually enrolled to mostly Drama classes emphasizing Shakespeare. She taught with a heart wanting to encourage her students not only to invest their lives in learning and becoming more knowledgeable about the arts, but also about themselves and their potential. To help her students do this, she created a Courtyard Show as an outdoor event for the Hayfield Theater program that encouraged her students to design and perform in their very own play by using their creativity, imagination, effort, and ingenuity. It remains a school event that continues today for now over 50 years and some of those shows were named as favorites by many former students. She also was a Cappies Original starting with their first Gala on June 4, 2000 (note the date of Rebecca’s passing). It’s a Critics and Awards Programs that is like the Tony Awards, but for recognizing high school theater and journalism students and teenage playwrights. Student critics review performances, write reviews, and select nominees for awards and winners announced. It remains an annual Gala held at the Kennedy Center.
The successes of all those efforts and her teaching practices and beliefs through the years captured the attention of the school board, parents and students who formally recognized her by naming the school room she loved, the Rebecca S. Wilburn Auditorium. While certainly appreciative of the honor and recognition, she always knew that it truly belonged to all the dedicated students in those plays and to all those who worked diligently helping to prepare for each production. They were the real stars of all those shows in that auditorium and in her life. She loved watching them learn and grow in all of the important ways, perhaps more than they will ever know. The final stars of the show, was found in the love she had in animals. Perhaps if she could, she would always, have a cat assisting with the direction of any theatrical performance she would produce because, she loved them so.
She was loved very much and preceded in death by her grandparents, Victor and Lena Wilburn; parents, William and Helen Gautier; aunts and uncles, Charles and Pauline Wilburn, Warner and Mary Williams, and Roy and Irene Wilburn. Survived by loving brother, Michael Gautier (Daytona Beach, Fl); cousins, Jimmie and Dora Williams (Pearisburg, Virginia), Robert Wilburn (Salem, VA), Gary Wilburn (Roanoke, VA), Randy Wilburn (Ripplemead, VA), Pam (Glen) Tuck (Elliston, VA), all who were primary participants in her “Walton’s Mountain” early life experiences and so many other cousins who were also very important in her life.
The family would like to thank Sunrise of Springfield for the staff’s genuine, loving care she received during her 11 years of struggles with dementia, the doctors and nurses who attended her medical needs, including her hospice team members; great friends, John and Ellen Glynn (Virginia Beach, Virginia) who visited her frequently and took her to enjoy plays at the Kennedy Center and other events even after her health diagnosis; and to the Fairfax County School Board, teachers, staff, and students at Hayfield Secondary School, many of whom called and visited her. Also, special thanks to Roxanne Seftas for her remarkable efforts creating Rebecca’s “Celebration Books of Memories” reflective of special moments in her teaching career. They contain hundreds of letters and photos from students and parents she met throughout her career that wrote stories expressing heartfelt appreciation for not just teaching them about drama (some 30 plus years ago), but the importance of the impact she made on their life that remains with each of them even today. Please know she certainly felt and appreciated the love, memories, and powerful words that were given from each of you in all of those books…they are truly a treasure…thank you!
It's been said “A teacher changes the world, one child at a time.” Rebecca found God’s path for her life. May Her curtain call be on of being Welcomed Home into God’s Open Arms and hear Him say “Well done, thy good and faithful servant…” Matthew 25:23
The family will receive and welcome guests at a time of visitation on Monday, June 9, 2025 from 1:00 PM until 2:00 PM in the Kendall Funeral Home Chapel (605 Snidow St Pembroke, VA 24136). A Funeral service will be conducted on Monday, June 9, 2025 at 2:00 PM where her life will be celebrated in the Kendall Funeral Home Chapel with Pastor Craig Whittaker officiating. Burial will follow in Birchlawn Burial Park in Pearisburg, Virginia in the Blue Ridge Mountains near the Appalachian Trail. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Hayfield Drama Boosters by contacting hayfielddramaboosters@gmail.com or to your favorite charity. Remembrance cards or letters can also be sent to the family in care of Kendall Funeral Home (PO Box 38 Pembroke, VA 24136). A guestbook is available to send condolences to the family by visiting www.kendallfuneralhome.com. The staff of Kendall Funeral Home are honored to serve the Wilburn family.
