VIRGINIA RUTTER HANDS, 92, a teacher, loyal friend, and devoted wife, daughter, and mother, died Monday, October 26, 2015 in her sun-filled sky-blue room at Carleton-Willard Village in Bedford, MA. Virginia and her husband of 66 years, John Presby Hands, previously resided in Jericho VT, and Montclair NJ, where they raised their three children and where Virginia taught preschool for many years at Montclair Cooperative School. John died in 2014. Born in Rutherford, NJ, on July 2, 1923, Virginia was the only child of Lillian Hyers Dunn and Hugh McLure Rutter. Her father was an outdoorsman, and she had fond childhood memories of accompanying him horseback riding, fishing, golfing, and ice skating. Her mother was always her closest friend; they talked together every day, and after her mother's stroke, Virginia cared for her for more than a decade. She and John both grew up in Rutherford, but didn't meet until after World War II when he was a US Navy Lieutenant and she was teaching preschool at Greenwich Settlement House in New York City. They were married at the First Presbyterian Church in Rutherford on March 19, 1948. Where ever Virginia lived or worked, she took a deep interest in the lives and families of those around her. She developed strong friendships that lasted a lifetime and were often kept alive by her friends' children. Born the same year, she and her cousin Barbara Hall Smith remained close for 90 years. Virginia also stayed in close contact with her classmates from Passaic Collegiate High School, from her dancing school, and from Mount Holyoke College where she sang in the Glee Club and earned a BA in early childhood development in 1945. Virginia made many friends through her commitments to the Unitarian Universalist Church in Montclair, where she served as Religious Education Director in the 1960s and later as President of the congregation. After retiring with John to Vermont in 1985, she chaired the Women's Alliance at the Unitarian Universalist Society in Burlington VT, and was a loyal member and friend of the Jericho-Underhill potluck supper group and a tight-knit women's Book Club. When they moved to Massachusetts in 2010, Virginia and John enjoyed the companionship, care, and beautiful gardens at Carleton Willard Village, and Virginia took special interest in each of the staff and fellow residents. She also was blessed in her later years by the caring friendship of Deanna Safford of Jericho VT, Debra Fuller of Williston VT, and Debra and Glenn Wolf of Billerica MA. Virginia is survived by her three children, Susan Hands Taylor of Lincoln MA, John P. "Jack" Hands, Jr. of Barrington RI, and Jennifer Hands Frick of Jericho VT; five grandchildren: Matthew Adrian Taylor of Newton, MA, Rebecca Hyers Taylor of Toluca Lake CA, William Oliver Frick of Jericho VT, and Allison and Lindsey Hands both of Barrington RI; and son-in-law Gary Taylor and daughter-in-law Tracy Taylor Hands. Her son-in-law Richard H. Frick died in 2014. She also leaves two cousins, Gerald Wilcox of Hilton Head, SC, and Richard Hall of North Carolina, and her cousin Barbara's children, Linda Dawson, Wade Jacobson, and Richard Jacobson. Memorial services will be private. Condolences may be sent to PO Box 6267, Lincoln MA 01773, and donations in Virginia's memory to Mount Holyoke College or the Carleton-Willard Employee Appreciation Fund, 100 Old Billerica Rd., Bedford MA 01730. Arrangements are under the care of the Dee Funeral Home of Concord.