Rev. Virginia Thomas (left)
with Dolphins Executive Director Brita Kriebel
with Dolphins Executive Director Brita Kriebel
Virginia C. Thomas
1917-2011
The Rev. Virginia C. Thomas, one of the first women to be ordained a deacon of the Episcopal Church in America, died April 30, 2011 in St. Albans, Vermont She was 93.
After raising four children and extensively traveling the world with her husband, the late R. David Thomas, Jr., she enrolled in the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. She graduated in 1978 with a Master’s of Arts in Religion and was ordained shortly thereafter.
Following her ordination she organized the Dolphin Program in the Philadelphia area. Modeled on the close-knit behavior of these sea mammals, Dolphins are volunteers who call upon lonely people in nursing homes and become their one-to-one companions. The program spread nationwide during the following ten years before Rev. Thomas retired in 1988.
A word from our founder
It all started with Marion. She was sitting in her chair by the window watching the birds. I told her I was doing a research program on the aged in nursing homes, for my seminary degree, and she welcomed me like a thirsty person in a desert. “Oh yes, this is a good place; at Bryn Mawr Terrace they provide not just good food, but nice rooms, and lots to do. Church groups come with their choirs and brownies, schools make sure their first graders learn to visit old folk, trips to museums and shows are planned, and buses provided. Oh, yes, I guess it’s OK…but…”
“But?“
“Welllll - you see, nobody ever comes to see ME. Just Me. And I’m so lonely.” There you have it – the Dolphin Program. One person to visit each of the Marions in the nursing homes. Not a professional social worker. Not a minister, a priest, a rabbi – but a friend, who just might happen to be a professional social worker, a minister, a priest, a rabbi, a teacher, a plumber, a saleslady, or you. This very simple idea of having one person visit just one person really makes a difference in lives: the one who is lonely, and the one who becomes the friend. And because it makes such a difference, the Dolphin Program has spread and has lasted for all these years.
Now it has reached a point where it has grown big enough to have the problems that many big programs have: problems of money and communication. These problems have never been easy to solve. As I look back over the years, however, I can give only one bit of advice, and that is to remember Marion.
Remember Marion. In every nursing home there is a Marion who is lonely. She needs a Dolphin friend
Never forget Marion.
Rev. Virginia Thomas
February, 2011
“But?“
“Welllll - you see, nobody ever comes to see ME. Just Me. And I’m so lonely.” There you have it – the Dolphin Program. One person to visit each of the Marions in the nursing homes. Not a professional social worker. Not a minister, a priest, a rabbi – but a friend, who just might happen to be a professional social worker, a minister, a priest, a rabbi, a teacher, a plumber, a saleslady, or you. This very simple idea of having one person visit just one person really makes a difference in lives: the one who is lonely, and the one who becomes the friend. And because it makes such a difference, the Dolphin Program has spread and has lasted for all these years.
Now it has reached a point where it has grown big enough to have the problems that many big programs have: problems of money and communication. These problems have never been easy to solve. As I look back over the years, however, I can give only one bit of advice, and that is to remember Marion.
Remember Marion. In every nursing home there is a Marion who is lonely. She needs a Dolphin friend
Never forget Marion.
Rev. Virginia Thomas
February, 2011
