Sandy and Sharon Ainslie

For Sandy and Sharon Ainslie, the move to Westminster Canterbury can almost be considered a coming home story, even though Sandy was born in Huntington, West Virginia, and Sharon, in Los Angles, California.  Before meeting as students at the University of North Carolina, each had received a high school education from well-established private boarding schools on the East coast: for Sandy, Episcopal High School (founded 1839) in Alexandria, Virginia, and for Sharon, The Masters School (founded in 1877) in Dobbs Ferry, New York. When they married in 1962, each had a Bachelor of Arts degree.

After graduating from UNC, Sandy embarked, with much success, on a career as an educator. For thirteen years he worked at his alma mater, Episcopal High, first as a coach and a teacher of Latin and English, followed by six years as assistant headmaster. In 1974, he accepted the position of headmaster at Virginia Episcopal School (VES) in Lynchburg, Virginia, and the Ainslie family took occupancy of a campus home for themselves and three children:  Lee, of Old Brookville, New York, Elizabeth Green, and Garth Ainslie, both of Lynchburg. Garth has returned to VES, this time to live on the campus while serving as headmaster. The number of Ainslie grandchildren stands at seven.

While at VES Sandy played a major role in the selling of VES property which became the site for Westminster Canterbury Lynchburg. After seven years at VES, Sandy returned to Episcopal High School and held the title and responsibilities of headmaster for 17 years, retiring in 1998.  But, not really retiring, as he served as a capital campaign consultant for Episcopal High for two years. 

Sharon, when first married, held a part-time job in the library at Episcopal High and Virginia Theological Seminary. With the arrival of children, she changed her worked to that of a mother and household manager. During her first residency in Lynchburg, she transferred from the Washington Junior League to the Lynchburg chapter and soon was elected to serve as treasurer, a position that required a background of accounting courses.  Sharon easily corrected her deficiency by successfully completing a couple of accounting courses and the opportunity to work as an accountant.  When the Ainslie family returned to Alexandria Sharon joined the staff of Aaronson Investment Trust and soon served as its chief financial officer.

Both Sandy and Sharon have been active community volunteers.  Sandy has served on the boards of private schools and colleges; for example, Randolph and Hollins and nonprofit organizations such as Beacon of Hope.  Sharon belongs to the Lynchburg Garden Club and has been a member of the Board of the Lynchburg Academy of Fine Arts and the board of VES.

Sandy’s leisure activities include painting, reading, and watching a lot of golf matches.  Sharon, likewise, enjoys reading, so much that she belongs to two book clubs.  She is an enthusiastic player of bridge and Mah Jongg, and never turns down an opportunity to take care of her grandchildren.