Mrs. Virginia Groves Beach

May 16, 1929 - December 21, 2020

Virginia Groves Beach, 91, passed away on Monday, December 21, 2020 at Piedmont Hospital. She was the wife of the late John Harrison Beach. Born in Atlanta in 1929, she was a daughter of the late J. Lee Groves and Cornelia Walker Groves. In addition to her husband and parents, she was also preceded in death by two sisters, Elizabeth Brennan and Anne Morris. She is survived by a son, John Harrison Beach, Jr. and his wife, Ann Fleming Beach, and a grandson, John Harrison Beach, III. Virginia attended E. Rivers School and Washington Seminary (Westminster), Marjorie Webster College, and the Atlanta School of Art. For many years she painted and sculpted, with her artwork installed in such diverse places as Caesar’s Palace and EuroDisney. In 1986 Virginia opened the Sotheby’s Fine Art Atlanta office, handling the southeast, and later became an International Representative before retiring in 2006. Virginia was active in many groups, including the Junior League, the Cherokee Garden Club, the Cherokee Garden Library at the Atlanta History Center, and on the board of the Garden Club of America. She lectured on art and gardens across the US, and at over 25 museums. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Cherokee Garden Library at Atlanta History Center or the Buckhead Heritage Society. She will be interred at St. Philip Cathedral, and the family will hold a memorial service at a later date.