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Jacqueline Gibbs Dreyer
Jacqueline Gibbs Dreyer passed away peacefully Dec. 17th with family by her side. Jackie was predeceased by her loving husband, William A. Dreyer Jr., and by her second husband, Julian Zuke. Jackie was a graduate of Kent Place School in Summit, N.J., and earned a nursing degree from the University of Pennsylvania. She was an avid foxhunter and rode for many years with the Essex Fox Hounds in Far Hills, N.J. where she and her husband, Bill, raised their four children, Darcey Dreyer Fisher, William A. Dreyer III, John Edmund Dreyer and Robert Arnold Dreyer. The family enjoyed both foxhunting and skiing together. Bill and Jackie started Driving in Far Hills with great enthusiasm for the sport. It became a passion for them. Jackie continued to Drive her wonderful horse, Honesty, after Bill Passed away. She was a member of the Middleburg Tennis Club and loved playing tennis. She was involved with the Middleburg Players and the Bell Choir of Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Middleburg. She loved entertaining and always welcomed new faces to her dinner table or to her great tailgate parties. Jackie also had a special place in her heart for her two wonderful daughters-in-law, Stephanie Wight Dreyer and Megan Caldwell Dreyer. She adored her grandchildren, John Noble Fisher III, Courtney Brant Fisher, Hilary Stewart Dreyer, Megan Shanklin Dreyer, Lark Dreyer, John Edmund Dreyer Jr. and Yve. They all loved their GiGi and her sense of humor, which will live on in all of them. Always a proper lady, loving and kind, we will all miss her. There will be a service and a celebration of her wonderful life on April 12th at 11 a.m. at the Emmanuel Episcopal Church. We invite all her friends to join us for a great sendoff for our amazing, beautiful, loving Jackie. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Blue Ridge Hospice are appreciated.
Bay Crosby Cockburn, 57 A champion steeplechase rider and widely-respected horse trainer in the Middleburg area, died on Dec. 25 at the Loudoun Hospital Cornwall campus in Leesburg of complications from melanoma. Cockburn, who lived in Unison, was seriously injured in a fall in 1998 that left him a quadriplegic, but he continued to pursue his love of horses until his death. A natural horseman and raconteur, Cockburn was born at home on Glebe Farm in Shuckburgh, England on May 18, 1956. His mother, Anne Blaker Cockburn, and late father, Edmund Crosby Cockburn, were avid foxhunters with the Warwickshire Hunt as well as breeders of steeplechase horses.
After spending nine years in Ireland, he came to America and eventually landed in Hamilton, Virginia at Hillbrook Farm, owned by Dr. Joseph Rogers. Cockburn and Rogers teamed in the hunt field with the Loudoun Hunt and on the point-to-point circuit with Rogers’ stable of horses. A familiar face in the winner’s circle, Cockburn never failed to thrill many a race-goer with his driving finishes or his spectacular falls and re-mounts to win a race against all odds. He was married to Chrissy Keys in 1989 and they had two children. The couple later divorced. In 1991, Cockburn was named the Amateur Riders Club of America’s national champion race rider. He also won many local Virginia awards throughout his racing career riding horses he trained himself and for others. Before his injury, Cockburn raised and trained two highly successful horses originally owned by Gordie Keys of Middleburg. Both horses, later under different ownership, went on to win the Maryland Hunt Cup (Solo Lord in 2001) and the Virginia Gold Cup (Ironfist in 2001). Cockburn loved foxhunting and adored his hounds. He especially enjoyed listening to them as they worked a scent. Riders who trailed behind him always said hunting was rarely dull when Cockburn was in the saddle. He was huntsman to the Loudoun Hunt in Virginia and huntsman for the Goshen Hounds in Maryland for several years until he was made a Master-Huntsman of the Loudoun Hunt West.
Still, Cockburn lived a productive life from his wheelchair that was inspirational to anyone who knew him. He mentored many youngsters over the years and continued training and racing horses with much success. Survivors include his mother Anne and brother Kim, both of Warwickshire, England, his sister, Georgina Neil, of Hay, Australia, a daughter, Katie, 23, of Long Beach, Miss. and son, Sam, 21, of Starkville, Miss. Cockburn is fondly remembered by Amy Long, his devoted caregiver and friend of ten years, many supportive neighbors in Unison, as well as the entire Keys family and long time friends in England and Ireland. A celebration of Cockburn’s life will be held Friday, January 10, 2014 at 3 p.m. at Buchanan Hall in Upperville. Contributions in Cockburn’s memory may be made to the Hunt Staff Benefit Foundation (HSBF), P.O. Box 363, Millwood, VA 22646 or at http://www.mfha.org.
picnic on their farm. Holidays were spent on Mt. Desert Island, ME, which is not far from Schoppee Island, which was granted to her Revolutionary War ancestor. She loved spending winters at her home in Nassau, Bahamas She was an amazing mother to her immediate and extended family, and a loyal friend to so many. She lived life with great enthusiasm and always extended herself for family and friends. She was a bright light who left an indelible impression of grace on most who knew her. The world was a better place with her in it. Her presence will be sorely missed but her spirit will remain with all who knew her. There will be a private family burial, and a celebration of her life will be held this spring in Virginia.
Janet Grayson Whitehouse Janet Grayson Whitehouse, a long-time resident of the Middleburg area, who for 50 years was at the forefront of the conservation and historic preservation movements, died peacefully at home on Christmas Eve at the age of 87 after suffering from a long illness. Mrs. Whitehouse had a strong Christian faith which informed her lifelong devotion to serving others and being a steward of natural and historic resources. “She was dearly beloved to all of us and was the energy and spirit behind so much of the good that has happened in the Piedmont,” said Chris Miller, president of the Piedmont Environmental Council. “She was a woman of great kindness, dignity and grace who knew what was right. She never wavered in pursuing what was right, encouraging the rest of us to rise to her level of courage and commitment.” A master at involving others and energizing efforts on behalf of charitable organizations, she once described her approach as “advocacy is a team sport.” In 1993, in coordination with the PEC and as co-chairman of the Goose Creek Association, she spearheaded the first meeting--held at Grace Episcopal Church in The Plains--to rally opposition to Disney’s proposed theme park near Haymarket. “The meeting was organized to feel the pulse of opposition within our community,” Childs Burden, president of the Mosby Heritage Area Association has said. “Well, the pulse was not beating it was racing.” This was the opening salvo in the battle which ultimately led to Disney’s abandonment of the project. In 1995, she co-founded and chaired the Mosby Heritage Area Association, which through its “preservation through education” programs annually teaches over 5,000 Virginia students about local history. Through its many initiatives, MHAA serves as an advocate for the preservation of historic, cultural, scenic and natural resources of the Northern Virginia Piedmont. Its many educational programs seek to bring an awareness of the significant heritage of this unique area which in turn leads to an appreciation for its preservation. Her work in the field of conservation began in the 1960s working on behalf of the Audubon Naturalist Society, where her first husband, William Grayson, served as president. During this time, Mrs. Whitehouse helped to found “Concern,”’ a women’s environmental organization. She also co-authored the “Living Garden Calendar” in 1970 which gave practical advice about growing plants without the use of chemicals. The calendar was a huge success and was reprinted for many years. Her love of horticulture was reflected in her long commitment to the FauquierLoudoun Garden Club (1960-2013) and her work there as Conservation Chair. Her love of history was manifested in a 16-year tenure as a director of Stratford Hall-- the Lee Family ancestral home--where she was vice president and a member of the executive committee. She also dedicated significant efforts on behalf of Oatlands of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Garden Club of America, the National Gallery of Art and Trinity Episcopal Church in Upperville. She worked for two years at the World Wildlife Fund as a projects administrator and development officer in the early 1980s. Mrs. Whitehouse was born June 5, 1926, in Pittsburgh, the daughter of George and Thelma Patton Ketchum. She was a 1943 graduate of Chatham Hall and earned a Bachelors degree from Vassar College in 1946. In 1949 she joined the State Department’s Office of Intelligence Research as a political analyst for Belgium and Luxembourg. In April, 1951 she married William Cabell Grayson, program director for NBC, Washington, and later special coordinator for telecommunications for the Smithsonian Institution and president and chairman of the Audubon Naturalist Society. He died in April, 1980. Together they worked on preserving the C&O Canal, and in opposition to Potomac River dams and the Salem Church dam. They also helped spearhead funding for studies leading to the Virginia Scenic Rivers Act, the founding of the Conservation Council of Virginia, and support of the Virginia Outdoors Plan. They also wrote “Raising Wood Ducks in Captivity” and gave the National Zoo its first wood ducks. In October, 1984 she married Charles S. Whitehouse, a Yale classmate and friend of her first husband, who served as ambassador to Laos and Thailand in the 1970s. He was the first Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict in the Reagan administration, and later was chairman of the Piedmont Environmental Council when it opposed Disney’s planned theme park development. He died in June, 2001. Mrs. Whitehouse often said that she had “the two happiest marriages one could ever have.” She shared both of her husbands’ devotion to conservation, and her care of them during illnesses was inspirational. Mrs. Whitehouse is survived by three children, William Cabell Grayson, Jr. (Susan) of Upperville; Katherine Grayson Wilkins (Fraser Bryan) of Washington, D.C. and George Grayson of Upperville; three stepchildren, Sheldon Whitehouse (Sandra) of Newport, RI; Charles R. Whitehouse of Malibu, CA and Sarah Whitehouse Atkins of Newport, RI; five grandchildren, Paul Cabell Grayson, William Cabell Grayson, III, William Fraser Wilkins, Torrey Grayson Wilkins and Emily Payne Wilkins and five step grandchildren, Virginia Atkins, Helen Atkins, Charles Atkins. Mary (Molly) Whitehouse and Alexander Whitehouse. Memorial contributions can be sent to the Mosby Heritage Area Association (designated to “Janet Grayson Whitehouse Fund”) or the Piedmont Environmental Council.
January 2014
On April 17, 1998, that pace came to a halt when he fell from his horse on the eve of the Middleburg Bowl point-topoint race. Cockburn was out schooling and took a fence. He then found himself regaining consciousness, lying flat on his back under a tree. Many days later, he said he knew he was in grave trouble when he could not push the helmet off his head as he was lying on the ground. He had permanently damaged his spinal cord and broken his C-5 and C-6 vertebra.
Inverneshire, Scotland; Suzanne Cooke of West Palm Beach, Fla; Mia Glickman of Marshall, VA, Julie Matheson of Markham, VA, Granddaughter Jacqueline Cooke of NYC and five grandchildren in Scotland. She was preceded in death by her husband John A. Martin, in 2001, and her son, John Nicholas Martin in 1970. Mrs. Martin was involved in a number of charitable endeavors. For several years, she served as co-chair for Washington’s International Eye Ball, and she worked with ‘So Others May Eat’, (S.O.M.E.). Mrs. Martin’s flair for entertaining made everyone feel special, whether they were foreign dignitaries visiting, or associates from E.C. Ernst enjoying a company
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Most people would find it virtually impossible to hunt two packs of hounds in two different states while continuing to ride and train steeplechase horses. But to Cockburn, the pace was just perfect.
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ong-time resident of Washington, DC and Middleburg, VA, Diane Grant Martin, 81, passed away peacefully, surrounded by members of her family, on Dec. 18th at the Washington Home, Hospice in the District. Mrs. Martin was born August 30, 1932 in Bangor, Maine, the daughter of Louis and Alana Landers Grant. She attended the University of Maine and relocated to Washington in the 1950s. She married John A. Martin of Fairfax County, VA, former president and CEO of E.C. Ernst, Inc., in Washington, DC. The Martin family spent time between their home in Washington, DC and “Old Whitewood” in The Plains, VA. She is survived by daughters Stephanie Noble of
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Educated at Dunchurch-Winton Hall and Worksop College in England, Cockburn also had a great passion for racing and foxhunting. At 21, he moved to Ireland and worked for Arthur Moore and won many races under his tutelage. A few years later, Cockburn opened his own training facility on the Curragh and started working as a whipper-in for the Kildare Hounds.
August 30, 1932 ~ December 17, 2013
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Diane Grant Martin
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