On April 3, the ladies of the Moon-McGehee Chapter of DRT met at the San Marcos City Cemetery to hold a Daughters of the Texas Republic Memorial Medallion Ceremony recognizing longtime-chapter member Virginia Bergfeld Woods.
Woods was a member of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, having been admitted into membership in October of 1966. She was a member of the San Marcos Moon-McGehee chapter, and received her 50year Senior Membership Award at the DRT Convention in May 2017. DRT members in attendance included the District VIII Representative, Milli Pope, chapter members from the San Marcos Moon-McGehee Chapter and the Seguin Abishai Mercer Dickson Chapter. Woods’ family members in attendance included Wayne and Mary Jane Windle (grandson and wife) and John Windle (great-grandson, on Zoom).
Joy Aden Galaviz, President of the Moon-Mc-Gehee Chapter, led the ceremony. Woods’ DRT Memorial Medallion was unveiled at the ceremony. Her family and friends shared their memories. County music singer Dottsy Dwyer performed two of Woods’ favorite songs: “True Women” and “Red Bird.”
Woods passed away in February of 2022 at the age of 107. A celebration of life was held at the Kings-Wood Homestead in May 2023. Members of the Moon-McGehee Chapter of San Marcos and the Abishai Mercer Dickson Chapter in Seguin attended the event.
According to an article in the Seguin Gazette, Woods was active in the Seguin community, having founded the Seguin Conservation Society. She was an original manager of the Girl Scout House and served as a Board Member of the Seguin ISD School Board. She was a life-long educator from 1935 to 1979. She was credited with providing the oral history behind the best-selling book “True Women” written by Woods’ daughter and Moon-McGehee DRT chapter member, Janice Woods Windle.
“True Women” tells the story of two family lines in Texas — the Kings and the Woods. The book went on to inspire the 1997 CBS Miniseries by the name.
Woods’ recollection of events was also noted in her daughter’s other novel, “Will’s War.” The book was later turned into the theater script and production of “Will’s War” by the Woods’ great-grandson, William Wayne Windle. The play is based on Woods’ experiences as a child recounting the trials and tribulations of Will Bergfeld (her father) in pre-World War I America, as a first-generation son of German immigrants in Central Texas.
The stone marker for Virginia Bergfeld Woods, who passed away at the age of 107. Photo submitted by the Moon McGehee Chapter of the DRT
