Virginia Lilly Yarborough served on board of Fayetteville Publishing Co., was philanthropist and volunteer

Virginia Lilly Yarborough, a philanthropist who was involved in a number of community organizations, died Sunday at her home in Fayetteville. She was 86.

Yarborough served on the Board of Directors for the Fayetteville Publishing Co., which owned The Fayetteville Observer before its sale in 2016. Yarborough’s husband, Ramon L. Yarborough Sr., served as a publisher for the newspaper.

She was the daughter of Richard M. Lilly and Ashton W. Lilly, who were the former president and former chairman of the board, respectively, for the Fayetteville Publishing Co.

Virginia Yarborough “volunteered, and supported many organizations and projects that enhanced the quality of life for others in Fayetteville,” according to her obituary, published online Monday. She was a founding member of the Junior Service League of Fayetteville and its first treasurer, according to the obituary. She graduated from Fayetteville High School, St. Mary's College and UNC-Chapel Hill.

Yarborough was a supporter of the Cumberland Community Foundation, which provides funds for numerous local organizations; the Fayetteville Animal Protection Society; and a several historic preservation efforts.

She also supported the Vision Resource Center. She herself was blind for the past 21 years, according to her daughter, Virginia Colantuono.

Her nephew, Charles Broadwell, said he admired his aunt for her fierce independence in the face of that challenge. At family gatherings, she would cook, he said. She had a sense of humor, he said.

Broadwell, a former Observer publisher and executive editor, said as his aunt started to lose her sight she developed a system for matching her clothes — with always her husband, Ramon, as her steady hand.

“She was remarkable,” Broadwell said.

According to her obituary: “Mrs. Yarborough was preceded in death by her husband, Charles Rankin, sister, Charlotte Broadwell, and brother, Richard Lilly, Jr.

“She is survived by her husband, Ramon L. Yarborough, Sr.; her children, Sam C. Rankin, Virginia Y. Colantuono (Tom), Ramon Yarborough, Jr. (Laura); her four grandchildren; Thomas, Emily, Hannah, and Ramon, III; her sister, Ashton Fox (Richard); and seven nieces and nephews.”

A family service is scheduled for Thursday.

Opinion Editor Myron B. Pitts can be reached at mpitts@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3559.

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This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: The late Virginia Lilly Yarborough on board of Fayetteville Publishing