Virginia E. Trevorrow Papers

Virginia E. Trevorrow had a long career as a biochemist with the Child Research Council. She obtained her undergraduate degree from the University of Denver in 1931, MA at University of Colorado and PhD from Cornell. After her retirement in 1970 she enjoyed photography and rock collecting. A careful investor, she accumulated an estate of almost $9, most of which she bequeathed to the University of Denver.

Virginia E. Trevorrow was born in 1909 to Edwin and Zepha Trevorrow, and was raised in Independence, Colorado, where her father was a superintendent of a gold mining venture. Gold production diminished in the early 1920s. The loss of the mining economy, coupled with her father's death, caused Virginia's mother to move to Denver where Virginia attended West High School.

Virginia received her bachelors degree from the University of Denver and went on to receive a masters from Universtiy of Colorado. At that point she began working as a research biochemist at the Child Research Council, a facility funded through the University of Colorado Medical Center. After her mother died in the early 1940s, Virginia went to Cornell to get her PhD, before returning to the Child Research Council. She retired from there in 1970.

When Virginia returned to Denver in the 1940s she joined an old high school friend, Vera Winchester, in buying a home near Aurora Hills Golf Course. The two lived frugally, and invested their extra income in stocks and bonds. After she retired, Virginia and Vera built a model railroad in their basement. Virginia also became interested in photography and indulged in rock collecting. The two women traveled around the world and Virginia collected rock specimens from the countries she visited.

Virginia and Vera enjoyed attending concerts at the Lamont School of Music, and Virginia remained interested in her alma mater. When cancer struck in 1997, Virginia made arrangements to leave the bulk of her estate to the University of Denver, after making provision for Vera's final years.

Virginia died September 12, 1997. Her legacy to the University served as an impetus for the University of launch the construction of a new performing arts center. The portion of the building that houses the Lamont School of Music is named in her honor, Trevorrow Hall.