Virginia L. Fry passed away November 18, 2018 following a short illness in Springfield, Missouri. A well-respected trial attorney and trusted adviser to her clients and colleagues, Virginia grew up on a dairy farm in Wright County, raised by parents who knew the value of hard work and a good education. Virginia was born April 22, 1954 to Phillip and Dora Fry, each of whom predeceased her.  On September 27, 1980, she married John Pratt, an attorney in Springfield, Missouri, and the love of her life, with whom she had two children.  Virginia is survived by her husband, John, her son, Brennan Pratt of Springfield, Missouri, his fiancé, Victoria Marszalik, her daughter, Jordan Goth, and her husband, Nolan, of College Station, Texas, and stepdaughters, Stephanie Pratt and Kristi Stiles, and her brothers, David Fry, and his wife Teresa, and Dwight Fry, and his wife Lori, of Mountain Grove, Missouri and loved nephews and nieces.

While growing up in Wright County, and after a summer job in the local shoe factory, Virginia figured out that she had no future as a fancy stitcher sewing zippers in purple suede Go-Go boots.  That summer served as inspiration for her obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance (summa cum laude), and a Masters in Business Administration, both from Missouri State University.  In 1980, she received her Juris Doctorate from University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law, where she was a member of Law Review. She began practicing law at the Woolsey, Fisher, Whiteaker & McDonald law firm in Springfield, Missouri. In 1998, Virginia joined the Blackwell Sanders firm, which would later become Husch Blackwell, where she served as Office Managing Partner for the Springfield office for 13 years.  Virginia also served on both the firm's Partner Board and Executive Committee where she was a driving force in helping the firm grow to over 700 attorneys with 18 offices nationwide.

As one of the first female attorneys in the Springfield area, Virginia was a strong leader and trailblazer, who set an example for women attorneys in this region.  Besides her numerous professional and community activities and achievements, she served as a mentor to many young lawyers. She was a trusted legal adviser for a wide variety of clients, helping them to succeed and avoid pitfalls.

Virginia earned numerous honors and awards. She was selected to receive the Distinguished Attorney Award by the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association (SMBA) in 2010, the first and only female to be selected for such award.  She was also selected as Woman of the Year by the Missouri Lawyer's Weekly at the Women's Justice Awards in 2015. She was named Outstanding Alumni for Missouri State University in 2006, recognized by her peers as one of The Best Lawyers in America and a Kansas & Missouri Super Lawyer (including one of the Top 50 Women) for multiple years, and was ranked AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell.  Virginia was also recently selected and honored for the 3 ^rd year in a row as one of the Biz 100 by Biz 417, and in September of this year Virginia was named the Legacy Adviser by the Springfield Business Journal honoring her 38 year career, the impact she had on her clients, and her dedication to the Springfield community. This all was in addition to having been previously named by the Springfield Business Journal as one of the Most Influential Women in Business (2002), and 12 People You Need to Know (2014).  There are many more accomplishments, honors, and awards that could be listed.  When asked about all of her accomplishments, Virginia's response was "All of those awards are special to me because they were selected by my peers and not something that I sought."

Virginia was very passionate about giving back to the community.  Among numerous other civic and charitable boards and committees, she served as Chair of the Missouri State University Board of Governors, Chair of the Springfield Board of Public Utilities, Vice-Chair of Public Affairs of the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce,  Co-Chair of the Springfield Chamber Visioning Committee, a member of the Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks Board of Trustees, a member of the Board of Governors of the Missouri Bar Association, the first female President of the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association, a founding Trustee of the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Foundation, President of the Visiting Nurses Association, a member of the Board of Directors of Springfield Innovation, Inc., a member of the  Board of Directors of the Council of Champions, and member of the Board of Directors of Springfield Community Hospital.

She was an accomplished gardener, cook, and hostess. She was a huge fan of Missouri State Bears basketball and loved the St. Louis Cardinals.

She had many friends who have assisted the family in her last days and loved her, including Cindy Fulp, Mary Beth O'Reilly, and Patty Lawrence.

A memorial service and celebration of Virginia's life will be held on Saturday, November 24, 2018 at 1:30 PM at King's Way United Methodist Church at 2401 S. Lone Pine, Springfield, Missouri, under the care of Gorman-Scharpf Funeral Home.  In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks, the College of the Ozarks, or the Missouri State University Foundation.