The Trustees, National Advisory Council and Partners of the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership mourn the loss of Cornelia "Neil" Flagg Keller, a co-founder who, with her vision and support, set out to shift the axis of contemporary assumptions about conservation and historic preservation.

In 2004, while on an outing with a friend, she became concerned that not enough was being done to recognize and protect the irreplaceable landscape from Gettysburg to Monticello. With that, she co-founded an innovative public-private nonprofit organization, The Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership.

In a letter to engage others in this effort, in early 2005, she wrote:

"If you spend any time at all in Virginia, you don't need to be told that our quality of life and land are being sorely challenged by explosive population growth and, in my opinion, by negligence, carelessness and oversight. Without rigorous change and leadership to save and protect that which makes Virginia's earth so precious, the frightening trend of obliteration will continue and worsen. Something has to be done. The above paragraph may be a tad dramatic, but I feel so strongly about the desecration of my front, back and side yard. And I think Voltaire got it right. Life is all about tending one's own garden. In our case, that would be Virginia. I feel called to do my part, which is why I am writing to you."

Born September 8, 1946 in Alexandria, LA, Neil grew up in Louisiana, Arkansas, New York and Mississippi. She graduated from Kent School, Sweet Briar College and Columbia University.

After teaching at Dalton School in New York City for two years, she married and moved to Richmond, VA where she was an activist for women's health and rights, vitally involved in the formation of the Virginia League for Planned Parenthood.

Her sense of humor, strong family loyalties and deep friendships made Neil unforgettable to those who had the privilege of knowing her.

She was preceded in death by her father, the Rt. Rev. Christoph Keller, Jr.; a sister, Martha Keller; and two sisters who died at birth. She is survived by her mother, Polly Keller Winter of Alexandria, LA; daughter Cynthia Henebry of Richmond, VA; and son Christoph Stutts of Carrboro, NC; sisters Caroline Theus of Alexandria, LA; Cynthia Davis of Charlottesville, VA; Kathryn Anderson of Alexandria and Elisabeth Keller of Cambridge, MA; brother Chris Keller of Little Rock, AR; grandsons Wendell and River Schoeneman of Richmond and Graham and John Stutts of Carboro and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

The family encourages memorial donations to the Children's Tuor Foundation, 95 Pine Street, 16th Floor, New York, New York 10005; the Focused Ultrasound Foundation, 1230 cedars Court, Suite F, Charlottesville, VA 22903; or the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership, PO Box 77, Waterford, VA 20197.