IN REMEMBRANCE
IN REMEMBRANCE:
DR. VIRGINIA TRIPP KEENEY
MARCH 23, 1920 - MAY 29, 2019
O
n May 29, 2019, the medical community lost a pioneer
in women’s medicine. Fittingly, she was born in the year
that the women’s suffrage movement was successful in
obtaining the right to vote. Dr. Keeney was our suffrag-
ette for women in the practice of medicine: she entered
medical school as one of four women in a class of 100.
She paved a path for future generations of women not
only as a female physician, but as a leader, an advocate and col-
league. She was the epitome of grace and eloquence, always with
a kind word of encouragement and a compassionate smile. As a
role model, she was the quintessential engaged physician. She did
it all and made it look easier than it ever was. She balanced med-
icine and family life raising three children, committing herself to
both medicine and her community. She was a dedicated teacher,
as well as a constant presence within multiple facets of leadership
in the medical community. She was the first woman appointed to
the Board of Medical Licensure and served on the Impaired Physi-
cians Committee and on numerous committees within the Great-
er Louisville Medical Society and Kentucky Medical Association.
She led our introduction to medical ethics and taught multiple
courses at the medical school. She served as Assistant Professor
within the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at
the University of Louisville, and her dedication to child psychiatry
and well-being was unmatched.
Virginia worked tirelessly through a lifetime of communi-
ty service that included everything from volunteering in a leper
colony during her early years, to serving on multiple community
boards through her late 80s. She spearheaded the polio vaccina-
tion program, flying all over the state and lining up all kinds of
helpers, coordinating with local doctors and health departments.
She touched the lives of so many. Yes, the force was always with
Virginia Keeney: may the force be with us as we try to carry on in
her footsteps.
- Mary Helen Davis, MD, DLFAPA
Dr. Keeney was a GLMS member for 38 years.
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LOUISVILLE MEDICINE