Virginia Pond, a woman who bridged the worlds of academia and the arts with a sharp wit and quiet determination, died Thursday, February 20, 2025, at her home in Baltimore. She was 84.

She is survived by her brother William W. Thomas and his wife Elise; Carol Hitchings Bailey; her nieces, Jodi Bailey and Emily Rose Thomas; and nephews Frank Bailey, William C. Thomas, Adam W. Thomas, and Benjamin Thomas. She is preceded in death by her husband Gardner Dwinell Pond and her sister, Nancy T. Bailey.

Virginia Thomas was born to William and Meredyth Thomas on March 11, 1940. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Literature from Boston University in 1962, graduating Phi Beta Kappa, and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1981. Virginia married her beloved Gardner Pond, a faculty member at the Essex campus of CCBC, who predeceased her. In addition, Dr. Pond was predeceased by her parents and her dear sister, Nancy Thomas Bailey. Dr. Pond, known for her sharp wit, delivered with a deadpan precision that could disarm or delight, was a longtime professor at the Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC). For nearly three decades, beginning in 1969, she shaped the lives of countless students at CCBC's Catonsville campus. A scholar of literature, she was not content with merely imparting knowledge; she sought to ignite a spark of intellectual engagement. She developed courses that reflected the changing times, including a pioneering women's literature course and an interdisciplinary humanities transfer program. She had a career marked by intellectual curiosity and a deep commitment to her students and her community. While her professional life was rooted in the structure of academia, her passions extended far beyond the classroom, blossoming in the vibrant arts scene of Baltimore.

Her tenure as the faculty sponsor of The Red and Black, the campus newspaper, for 15 years, revealed a mentor who valued both precision and perspective. She was known for her ability to cut through the noise and offer incisive, often dryly humorous, observations. Her dedication to the College's governance, culminating in her role as the first woman president of the Catonsville Community College Senate, and her participation in the creation of the unified three-campus senate, spoke to her commitment to institutional progress.

A sabbatical in the 1990s, spent at the Baltimore Evening Sun, was not a retreat but a reinvigoration. She sought to understand the craft of journalism firsthand, a testament to her belief in lifelong learning and the importance of practical experience.

Upon her retirement, Dr. Pond was designated Professor Emeritus. Dr. Pond embarked on a second act, one dedicated to the arts. She became a fixture in Baltimore's opera scene, volunteering with the Lyric Opera, the Young Vic, and Opera Baltimore, providing invaluable assistance with costuming, hair, and wig fittings, ensuring the performers looked their best. Her love for gardening was a natural extension of her appreciation for the natural world, which she further expressed through her volunteer work at the Cylburn Arboretum and the Rawlings Conservatory.

In later years her writing found a home in the Roland Park Place Residents Review, where her keen observations and sharp wit were on full display.

A memorial gathering will be held at Cylburn Arboretum on April 26, 2025, from 2:00PM – 4:00PM. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions will be appreciated to the Cylburn Arboretum and the Howard Rawlings Conservatory 4915 Greenspring Ave. Balto, MD 21209 or to the Baltimore Opera 11 W. Mt. Vernon Place Balto., MD 21201