Virginia Bryant Bedinger was born on January 27, 1921 to Grady and Connie Bryant in Walla Walla, Washington. Virginia graduated from Walla Walla High School and went to Whitman College in 1938. She continued her degree in Journalism from the University of Oregon from 1940 through 1943. Virginia met her husband Phyl Payne at Whitman and they were married in 1944, and later had a son, Kirby Payne. They moved to Brazil shortly after where Virginia worked as a journalist for Time Life and Phyl managed a hotel. They were later transferred to the Dominican Republic. Shortly after, Phyl and Virginia were divorced. She later met her second husband, Ben Bedinger, on a trip to Mexico. They married in 1961. Virginia continued to work as a journalist in Seattle, Washington and Austin, Texas until her retirement. Virginia was an avid golfer and world traveler. She died on February 14, 2013.