"Noted Greene Co. resident Josephine Denny dies at 99

Josephine Denny, 99, of 145 West High Street, Waynesburg, died at 8p.m. Friday, October 2, 1992, in Washington Hospital, where she was admitted four days earlier after suffering a fractured hip.

She was born August 31, 1893, in Waynesburg, the second of three daughters of Eleazor Luse Denny and Louise Inghram Denny. She had resided virtually all her life in the family home and was the last surviving member of both her maternal and paternal families, both of which settled in Greene County prior to 1790.

"She had been looking forward to her 100th birthday, and we had already begun planning for the party to celebrate it," said Farley Toothman, who, with his wife, Ingrid, and their children, has resided with Miss Denny since 1979.

He said her death was very unexpected since she apparently had been recovering well after the hip operation.

In her youth, Miss Denny attended the Academy of Waynesburg College. She was a graduate of the National Cathedral School, Washington, D.C.; Pine Manor Junior College, Wellesley, Mass., and Waynesburg College, where she received a bachelor of science degree with the class of 1915.

In addition, she studied French and art history at the University of Besancon, France. She resided with a French family in Paris under a study program with the Alliance Francaise and attended lectures in Rome and Florence, Italy.

She taught in private schools in Chicago and Long Island before returning to Waynesburg, where she taught science at Waynesburg High School from 1936 through 1942.

She had been active in local organizations all her adult life, including the American Association of University Women, Women's Auxiliary to Greene County Memorial Hospital and Waynesburg Woman's Club. She was a member of First Presbyterian Church of Waynesburg, where she had served as a trustee and elder.

Most notably, she was a driving force for more than 25 years in the Greene County Historical Society. Under her leadership, the society in1973 acquired the building that previously had been the county poor farm and completely restored it.

Today the 52-room museum is furnished with colonial and mid-Victorian artifacts and has been named one of the "Top Twenty Tourist Attractions" in Pennsylvania by the Tourist Industry Advisory Council.

Throughout her life, she and her two sisters, the late Mary Denny Weaver and Helen Denny Howard, had been devoted friends of Waynesburg College. Denny Hall, a woman's residence on campus, is named in their honor.

Her great-grandfather, John T. Hook, served as a founding trustee of the college, and her [GRAND] father, Meeker Woodruff Denny, and sister, Mary Weaver, subsequently served as trustees.

In 1982, the Waynesburg branch of the American Association of University Women named her as its "Outstanding Woman of the Year," noting that she had been a leader in bringing AAUW to Waynesburg and commenting on her many contributions to the community.

In addition to citing her leadership in the church and historical society, it noted that establishment of the Cherry Door, a non-profit clothing exchange for the benefit of the hospital, was established largely through her efforts as secretary of the hospital auxiliary.

She also was a member of numerous historical and genealogical societies, with national ranking in 26 lineage societies.

Miss Denny traveled extensively throughout the world, and for the past several years has resided during the winter months at Delray Beach, Fla."