Dr. Virginia Biggy – in memory

From The Chelmsford Independent — 1/30/2006

M. Virginia Biggy, 81, formerly of Concord, died Sunday, Jan. 15, 2006

She was born in Boston on Oct. 15, 1924, the daughter of Mary C. (Dwyer) and John J. Biggy.

Dr. Biggy was the dean and professor emereta of the Graduate school of Education at the University of Massachusetts Lowell before her retirement. Among her academic accomplishments, she was a member of a team that secured a major grant to improve reading skills in the school sly stem.

She was also a reading consultant, director of elementary education, assistant superintend ant of schools and acting superintend ant of schools at concord.

Dr. Biggy was the director of the United States Government Project for the Northeastern Regional Instructional Television Project and the director of Instructional Television, the Eastern Education network of New England, as well as South to West Virginia, west to Ohio and north to Canada, and the many Canadian provinces.

She was also the principal investigator and chief development and curriculum developer of the Think About instructional television programs and was awarded both an Emmy and an Action for Children’s Television Award for he work with with the network. Dr. Biggy was also the chief curriculum consultant for the Emmy Award winning Reading Rainbow television program for young children.

Dr. Biggy served as national president of the Phi Lambda Theta Organization, which is an international honor and professional association for young women in education, for four years. She then served as editor of Educational Horizons which is a publication of the Phi Lambda Theta Association and president of the Alumni Association School of Education at Boston University.

She is survived by a sister, Eleanor Maloney and her husband, Harold J., of Gig harbor, Wash.; 10 nieces and nephews; many grandnieces, grandnephews, great-grandnieces, great-grandnephews; and many godchildren.

For those who wish, contributions in Dr. Biggy’s memory may be made to the American cancer society, 30 Spen St., Framingham, MA 01701, or to CARE Alternatives, 181 Cedar hill Road, Marlborough, MA 01752.