Virginia Weiffenbach Kettering

Virginia Weiffenbach Kettering (1907 - 2003) was Dayton, Ohio's leading philanthropist and patron of the arts.

After her family moved to Dayton, Ohio for business opportunities, Virginia attended Moraine Park School, a progressive experimental school that had been established by Charles F. Kettering and Edward A. Deeds in 1917. It was at Moraine Park School that she met husband-to-be Eugene Kettering.

Philanthropist In 1959, the Ketterings announced they would donate two-thirds of the cost of building Kettering Memorial Hospital, named in honor of Eugene's father, Charles F. Kettering, who had died the previous year, if the remainder were raised by the community. The hospital opened in 1964.

In the 1960s, Kettering and her husband worked to create the United States Air Force Museum in Dayton, a pet project of Eugene.

In 1974, Kettering conceived and led the development of Courthouse Plaza, a downtown gathering space. Her 1997 induction into the Dayton Walk of Fame said she "changed the face of the region through her philanthropy." Dayton Foundation president Mike Parks said, "There isn't a sector of our community that hasn't been touched by her generous hand."

Personal life Kettering married Eugene Williams Kettering on April 15, 1930. She was widowed in 1969, and in 1973, married retired Mead Papers president H. Warren Kampf. She was widowed again in 1979.

The Ketterings lived in Hinsdale, Illinois, until the 1958 death of Eugene's father Charles F. Kettering, when they moved back to Dayton to take over management of the family's interests. 1997 Dayton Walk of Fame

Honorary degrees The University of Dayton Wright State University Skidmore College GMI Engineering & Management Institute (Now Kettering University)