Noted former Utah educator, consumer advocate and philanthropist Virginia Farrer Cutler died May 20, 1993, in Eugene, Ore. at age 87.
She was recognized as an outspoken advocate for equity in women's issues and was chairwoman of the Consumer Action Panel for a major appliance industry.She served for five years as the dean of the Brigham Young University College of Family, Home and Social Sciences and earlier had been head of the Home Economics Department at the University of Utah, where she established the Family Home Living Center.
BYU established the Virginia F. Cutler lecture in her honor, offering an opportunity each year for a professor to lecture on significant research in family sciences.
A devoted lifelong student, she earned degrees at the University of Utah, Stanford University and Cornell University.
In 1966, she was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship and spent three years in the University of Ghana before returning to BYU as distinguished professor for an additional two years. Earlier, she had been involved in the U.S. State Department programs in Southeast Asia. She served the program in Bangkok, Thailand, and Djarkarta, Indonesia.
She also received the plaudits of many notables, including former President Gerald Ford, for her diverse contributions to society.
In retirement, she devoted time and energy to the causes of women and minorities. She contributed to many philanthropies, including scholarships.
Mrs. Cutler received many awards and honors, including appointment as a delegate to the World Forum on Women in Brussels, Belgium, in 1962. She was honored by BYU with the Joseph F. Smith Family Living Award and was named Woman of the Year by the American Association of University Women. She served on the Governor's Commission on the Status of Women and in 1986 was named to the Beehive Hall of Fame.
She was the author of many articles on home economics and also contributed to publications of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Memorial services will be in the Garden Park Ward meetinghouse, 1150 E. Yale Ave., at noon Saturday, May 29. A buffet reception in the Stirling Sill Center on the U. campus will be from 2 to 5 p.m. In lieu of flowers, family members suggest donations to the Virginia F. Cutler lectureship at BYU.