In memoriam: Dr. Virginia Lee Cora

UMMC leadership extends its sympathy to the family of a legendary member of the Medical Center community for their loved one's unparalleled contributions to the academic health sciences center.

Dr. Virginia Lee Cora

Dr. Virginia Lee Cora, professor emeritus of nursing at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, died Dec. 7. She was 79.

A graduate of Freeburg (Illinois) High School, Cora received her B.S.N. in 1961 and her M.N. in 1972 from UMMC, her D.S.N. in 1985 from the University of Alabama Birmingham, and her M.S.N. in 1988 from the Mississippi University for Women. Her clinical practice and teaching were primarily focused on geriatric medicine and geriatric psychiatry. She retired in 2010.

President of the Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association, Cora was a fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

Visitation will take place from 5-8 p.m. Monday, Dec. 10, at Parkway Funeral Home and another brief visitation will take place at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 11, before funeral services at Holy Trinity-St. John the Theologian. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the School of Nursing’s Brothers/Cora Nursing Scholarship Fund, the Mississippi Nurses Foundation, Holy Trinity/St. John Orthodox Church or the Mississippi Public Broadcasting Foundation.