Virginia Long

Virginia Selma Long, 92, of Chapel Hill died Saturday, November 24th at her home. She was born February 1, 1915 in Portsmouth, VA, daughter of the late Walter Franklin and Beatrice Goldberg Long. Miss Long was a graduate of Rockingham High School and Goucher College. She had a master’s degree in the School of Applied Social Sciences from Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH. Miss Long worked with Family Service Societies in Raleigh, and Newark, NJ, the American Red Cross in Durham, and the Travelers Aid Society in Wilmington and New York City. She joined the University of North Carolina faculty in 1953 as a psychiatric social worker and upon her retirement in 1979 was a tenured Assistant Professor of Psychiatry/Social Work in the UNC Medical School. Miss Long was instrumental in developing the UNC Department of Psychiatry’s family therapy program. She also pioneered in case work and group work with spouses of alcoholics. She held field instructorships at Schools of Social Services at UNC, Columbia University, and Richmond Professional Institute. Miss Long was a visiting lecturer at the School of Social Work in Tehran, Iran and the World Health Organization (WHO) conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka. In 1979, she received the Isabelle Kirkland Carter Award from the North Carolina Association of Social workers for Mental Health. A service to celebrate Miss Long’s life will be conducted 3:00 pm Sunday, December 2nd in the Carter Funeral Home Colonial Chapel in Rockingham with Rev. Allison Coltrane officiating. Inurnment will follow in Eastside cemetery. Surviving are nephews, Watt Long, Ben Long and Alex Long; niece, Ginger Long Henry; great nieces, Ryan Long, Adyson Long, Julia Henry, Jacque Henry, Sierra Long, and Alexis Long; great nephews, Zachary Long, Jamison Long, and Evan Long. Miss Long was preceded in death by her brother, Walter F. Long, III and a great nephew, Franklin Long, V. Memorials may be made to the group of your choice or to any of Miss Long’s favorites, which are PETA, Habitat for Humanity, and UNC Dept. of Social Work. Carter Funeral Home in Rockingham is assisting Miss Long’s family. Online condolences may be sent to www.carterfuneral.net.