Virginia A. Bronson Tillson of Essex, Conn., and Oak Bluffs died at Essex Meadows Health Center on Friday, April 8. She was 89 and had been a longtime resident of Watertown, Conn.

Virginia, known to her friends as Ginny and Tutu to her grandchildren, was born on May 8, 1921, in Watertown to William A. Bronson and Alice J. Norton. She graduated from Larson Junior College (now Quinnipiac University) in 1940. She was married to Roger K. Tillson and raised three children. In her early years, she was employed by the Hartford Hospital as a lab technician.

Virginia dedicated much of her personal and professional life to the service of her fellow man and to the community. For many years, she was the director of the Waterbury Area Council of Churches. She was past chairman of the community council UCF, a member of the UCF board, treasurer and chairman of the Waterbury Area Episcopal diocese, board member for the Watertown Visiting Nurses Association and member of the Watertown town committee. She also served on the board for the Green Community Services, the Women’s Emergency Shelter, the Northwest Connecticut Regional Mental Health, the Waterbury Foundation, the Homeless Community Center and the Woodbury Commission of Elderly Senior Citizens Center. Most notably, she was the first woman to serve on the board of trustees for Waterbury Hospital, the first female dean of the Waterbury Episcopal Diocese and the first female to serve on the executive committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut.

Virginia loved to dance, listen to jazz and to spend all her summers happily on the Vineyard. She is survived by her three children, Peter S. Tillson, Martha T. Baratt and Roger K. Tillson Jr.; six grandchildren; her sister, Ann B. Harris, and five nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be held on Friday, April 15 at 11 a.m. at the Woodward Matoon Chapel at Evergreen Cemetery in Watertown. Interment in Evergreen Cemetery will follows. A celebration of life service will be held later this summer. There are no calling hours. Arrangements are under the care of the Hickcox Funeral Home in Watertown.

Donations in her memory may be sent to the Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meeting Association, Tabernacle Restoration Fund, P.O. Box 367, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557. To leave an online condolence please visit hickcoxfuneralhome.com.