Virginia S. Peters; Founded Alexandria Housing Nonprofit

The Washington Post, Friday, March 26, 2004

Virginia Swain Peters, 70, founder of Alexandria-based Wesley Housing Development Corp., died of multiple system atrophy March 23 at Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis.

Mrs. Peters started the not-for-profit provider of housing for low- and moderate-income residents of Northern Virginia in 1974. "After meeting a mother who slept with the lights on so rats wouldn't bite her children, I helped the church build housing for poor people," she told The Washington Post in 2001.

The corporation grew from a cardboard box in the back seat of her car to a multimillion-dollar enterprise that has purchased or developed 18 communities and served more than 9,000 low- and moderate-income households.

She retired as executive director of the organization in 1997 but continued to serve as chairman of the board of Agape House, a subsidiary of the housing organization, for people living with HIV/AIDS. She remained on the Wesley Housing Development board of directors until her death.

She was a McLean resident for 40 years and moved to Annapolis in 1998.

A few months ago, Mrs. Peters published a memoir of growing up in North Carolina, "Life's a Story." Her husband said she caused an uproar at her conservative high school when she organized students to get up and dance at their annual junior/senior banquet. In 1954, she was co-author of a resolution that called on all Methodist colleges in North Carolina to open their doors to black students.

She did not put on airs. When her husband was attending school in London in the early 1970s, the couple was presented to the Queen of England. Mrs. Peters delighted in telling people that for the occasion, she wore a short-sleeve dress purchased in a consignment shop.

Mrs. Peters was born in Durham, N.C., received a bachelor's degree from Greensboro (N.C.) College and taught elementary school in New Jersey. She moved to Arlington in 1958 and taught for a year in Arlington County public schools.

She was a member of the United Methodist Church in Arlington and the Virginia Democratic Party. She served on the Fairfax County Human Rights Commission, the Affordable Dwelling Unit Advisory Board and the Riggs Bank board of consultants.

In 1989, The Post recognized her contributions to the community in an article, "Unsung Heroes: Eight Who Made a Difference."

She was a recipient of the Fairfax County Human Rights Award in 1993. The Virginia General Assembly in February 1997 adopted a joint resolution of commendation for her work.

Survivors include her husband of 45 years, Charles Alvin Peters of Annapolis; four children, Alvin L. Peters of Panama City, Fla., Cynthia A. Peters of Boston, Susan P. Dennis of Annapolis and Marcia J. Peters of Atlanta; a brother; and seven grandchildren.