Virginia A.H. Coombs, director of nurse association

Virginia Anne Haynes Coombs, 69, of Media, a nurse and lawyer who was executive director of Visiting Nurse Association Community Services, died Saturday, April 3, of gastrointestinal cancer at Neighborhood Hospice in West Chester.

After becoming director of VNA Community Services in 1993, Mrs. Coombs developed home services and a health-specialist program for seniors and established children's clinics at VNA's offices in Norristown and Abington. Three years ago, when another agency couldn't fund a "personal navigator" social-services program, Mrs. Coombs arranged for VNA to administer it. The program assists clients in Montgomery County with 22 services, including prescriptions, housing, utility payments, and food stamps.

"She stood for family, trusted communications, and supporting understanding and cooperation among diverse cultures, races, and communities," said Denise Frattara, development director and administrator of children's programs at VNA Community Services.

Mrs. Coombs chaired the Montgomery County Eastern Region Collaborative and the Advisory Committee of the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania. She was a member of the Seniors Advisory Council for Rep. Allyson Y. Schwartz (D., Pa.).

A native of St. Louis, Mrs. Coombs lived in Hawaii in the 1960s when her husband, Russell Coombs, was serving in the Navy. She earned a bachelor's degree in English literature at the University of Hawaii and then earned a nursing degree from Boston University.

In the early 1970s, she moved to Philadelphia with her husband. They later divorced. While working as a nursing supervisor at Crozer-Chester Medical Center, she earned a master's degree in nursing from the University of Pennsylvania.

From 1978 to 1988 she was an administrator with Delaware County Home Health Services. During that time she earned a law degree from Widener University. After clerking for a Common Pleas Court judge in Philadelphia, she practiced civil law for three years before joining VNA Community Services.

She returned to health care to make a more meaningful difference, her daughter Sheila Branyan said. She found her law background useful when dealing with personnel and contractual matters, her daughter said.

Mrs. Coombs volunteered twice with a medical team repairing patients' cleft palates in Mexico. She enjoyed learning firsthand about different cultures, her daughter said. She traveled to Africa and later vacationed with family members in Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, and rain forests in South America. She was a Sierra Club leader on camping trips in Acadia National Park in Maine.

In addition to her daughter, Mrs. Coombs is survived by another daughter, Rachel, sons Thomas and Jesse, six grandchildren, and a great-granddaughter.

A life celebration will be at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 25, at Broomall's Lake Country Club, 400 W. Third St., Media. Friends may call from 1 p.m.

Donations may be made to Neighborhood Hospice, 400 East Marshall St., West Chester, Pa. 19380  or Farm & Wilderness Summer Camps, 263 Farm & Wilderness Rd., Plymouth, Vermont, 05056.