The New River Valley lost a great public servant with the sad passing of Deena Flinchum on Sept. 21, 2025. She provided extraordinary volunteer service to the NRV Area Agency on Aging; Volunteer Montgomery; Retired & Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) of Montgomery County & Radford; Montgomery County Emergency Assistance Program; Literacy Volunteers of America; Humane Society of Montgomery County, Women’s Resource Center, 100+ Women Who Care NRV, – and more. She gave her full-time attention to volunteering. She was a friend to all who knew her. She was an avid reader and a great storyteller.
Deena was born Feb. 20, 1947, in Wytheville, Va. to William Oliver Flinchum and Ethel Whitaker Flinchum. She is survived by a brother, Oscar (Bud) Flinchum, nieces, Deana and Civa and nephew, Stephen all of Niagara Falls, New York. She graduated as valedictorian from George Wythe High School in 1965. She moved to the Washington, D.C. area and attended college for two years. She went to work in information technology for the FBI, then the Washington Post. She then worked for the AFL-CIO for 25 years as their chief officer in charge of elections data. She retired on April 30, 2002 and relocated to Blacksburg, Va. In March 2002, she married her longtime companion James Oliver Glanville, a Chemistry Professor at Virginia Tech. They built a new home together in Blacksburg where she lived until after Jim’s death in 2019. She moved to her recent home in Christiansburg in 2022.
Deena began volunteering shortly after she moved to Blacksburg. She began with the Humane Society of Montgomery County working in a concession booth at Virginia Tech football and basketball games. After becoming a volunteer with RSVP of Montgomery County & Radford she became involved in assisting numerous organizations, but her primary focus was working with the NRV Agency on Aging’s Virginia Insurance Counseling & Assistance Program (VICAP). She was a dedicated advocate in helping save millions of dollars for NRV residents through informed decision making with Medicare. Her tireless volunteer efforts made a significant difference for residents in the New River Valley and beyond.
There will be a gathering of friends to remember Deena and celebrate her life on Sunday, Nov. 9 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Clubhouse of The Villas of Peppers Ferry at 30 Patriot Way, Christiansburg. Memorial contributions may be made to one of the charities Deena supported.
