Biography:

It is with deepest love and sorrow that we announce the death of the beautiful Virginia Jean Osborn, known lovingly as Ginger. She passed away on July 29, 2026, in Little Rock, Arkansas, due to complications from pneumonia. She was 78 years old. Born on February 18, 1948, in Nashville, Tennessee, to the late Zeno Thomas Osborn, Jr. and the late Dorothy Chase Osborn Trabue, Ginger was a woman of remarkable intellect, warmth, and spirit who left an indelible mark on everyone she met.

Ginger's academic achievements were nothing short of extraordinary. She earned her Master of Philosophy from the University of Tennessee and then completed her PhD in Philosophy at Vanderbilt University in just one year. She was valedictorian of her Nashville Law School class and practiced law for one year in Nashville, but it was the classroom where Ginger truly came alive. She returned to her beloved alma mater, Harpeth Hall in Nashville, to teach Philosophy, Government, and for one memorable semester, Physiology. The student body voted her Best Teacher of the Year so many times that the award was retired in her honor. She went on to complete her teaching career at Belmont University, where she once served as annual head of the Philosophy Department and was later honored with a Chair established in her name. She was a recipient of the Crystal Apple.

Beyond her academic life, Ginger was a force of nature. She was a competitive swimmer who excelled in the backstroke, a badminton champion at Harpeth Hall, and widely regarded as the best dancer in Nashville. She played the piano beautifully by ear before mastering very difficult scores. She was a gifted painter, a patron of the arts, a renowned orator, and a voracious reader who could recite poetry from memory. Fluent in Spanish, she traveled widely and made new friends wherever she went. Quick witted, funny, fiercely loyal, and genuinely compassionate, Ginger was a natural leader of the highest integrity who invested deeply in the lives of her students, mentoring them and advocating for their success long after they left her classroom.

Ginger was predeceased by her former husband, Bill Justus, whom she loved and admired her whole life. She is survived by her sisters, Rebecca Marshall and Margaret Keet; her brother-in-law James H. Keet, III; her nieces Virginia Chase Crocker and Katherine E. Keet; her nephews James Thomas Keet, James H. Keet, IV, and David Clayton Marshall; as well as their spouses Charles H. Crocker, Jr., Susannah H. Keet, Stephanie A. Keet, and Tanja Marshall. She will be missed by her surviving grand nephews Bronson Alexander Marshall, Charles Hawkins Crocker, III, James H. Keet, V, and William Dashiell Keet; grand niece Margaret Elizabeth Crocker; stepsisters Susi Trabue and Dancey Sanders; stepbrother Nelson Trabue and his wife Liz.

Ginger was unique and irreplaceable. Her loyalty, strength, courage, intelligence, humor, and determination were a blessing to all who were fortunate enough to know her. She stood up to bullies, putting all of them to shame and she was a champion of the underdog. While at the University of Tennessee, she saved the lives of two students, carrying one up the hill to the UT hospital . She was a fighter who held her head high and carried a banner of love for truth and goodness. She was a deep thinker and a great dancer, never losing her heart of gratitude no matter how difficult the circumstances. In the end, she drew close to Jesus, and He took her home to be with Him. James 4:8.

When the whole family is able to gather, a private graveside service will be held at St. Andrew's Anglican Church, followed by a private celebration of life at the home of Margaret Keet in Little Rock, Arkansas. In lieu of flowers, donations in Ginger’s memory may be made to Harpeth Hall School or Belmont University Department of Philosophy in Nashville, Tennessee. Arrangements are under the direction of RuebelFuneralHome.com