Virginia Ruth (Anderson) Johnson passed away in the early hours of October 13, 2024, surrounded by her loving family who had gathered from near and far for her 97^th birthday.

Virginia was born in Etowah Tennessee on October 12, 1927, to Carl Ausey Anderson, Sr. and Nelle Hilda (Ogle) Anderson. She and her four siblings, Carl Jr., Nelle, Betty Jean (“Beanie”), and George grew up in Athens, Tennessee, and she had many stories about those years. She remembers that during the Depression, her father would buy a cheap, big box of odd socks, and she and her siblings would make as many matches as possible and sell the pairs at a premium. Once, when her cast was removed after a broken arm, she couldn’t straighten it, so her doctor gave her a bucket to carry, adding a rock each day. Eventually, her arm was straight! Later, when a group was taking turns riding a bike, she took her turn, though she hadn’t really ridden and had no idea how to stop. When she kept going after the first round, her brother Carl realized the problem and ran after her to tell her to step back on the pedal. Years later, this consummate southern belle once got her daughter, Merrie, to flush out a rat in their garage, then shot it between the eyes, as it ran, with a .22 rifle!

Virginia attended Tennessee Wesleyan College for two years and University of Tennessee at Memphis Nursing School for three years.  She met her husband, the late Samuel Clark Johnson, when he drove the bus that took nurses to church. There was a rule about nursing students not being allowed to get married, but Ginny convinced them to give her permission. Still in school, she then had to commute home to care for her mother, who became ill and passed away from cancer in 1951.  Later, she commuted to the hospital when Sam contracted polio at age 23 while taking care of her two oldest girls. Virginia and Sam ultimately had five daughters, (Merrie, Lori, Lyn, Valerie, and Lisa) and were married for more than 27 years. They moved often when Sam was a pilot, living in Georgia, Florida, Texas, and mostly Delaware, where she finally settled some fifty years before her death.  She was always very involved in all of her children’s activities, including PTA, for which she once served as president. Having five girls led her to be a Girl Scout leader for many years, where she also started a lifelong friendship with the late Helen Lewis. Horseback-riding daughters made her a Board Member of Delaware Pony Club.  She always had a can-do personality and jumped in with creative problem-solving to lend a hand to anyone who needed it.

In 1974, once again on her own after her divorce, she became a nurse at the University of Delaware Student Health Service, where she worked for 30 years. While there, she took courses that allowed her to finally finish her BSN degree in her 50s. She also met Mary Zagar, a Sports Medicine nurse and close friend, with whom she organized many nursing conferences and helped with student-athlete physicals. She loved working with the students and always said they kept her young. She was an active member of the Newark United Methodist Church for many years, sang in the choir as often as she could, and volunteered for Altar Guild. She then started helping in the church library and the “Recent Reads” book group. She loved music and was a long-time member and then Board President for the Newark Symphony Society for several years.

Family was always very important to Ginny, as her friends called her. She had always made sure holidays were special occasions, and with her excellent sewing skills made many a Halloween costume for her grandchildren. Christmas was always her favorite holiday, and she had more decorations than she could use in any given year. She loved to entertain and hosted many Christmas parties over the years. Christmas was a time when her daughters and their families would often return home to celebrate with her. Her grandchildren have many fond memories of having so much fun together at Grandmom’s house. Ginny also travelled far and wide to visit her daughters, who were scattered across the country from Alaska to Maine. When her oldest daughter had her daughter Kerin in 1977, Ginny flew up to Edmonton, Alberta to help, bringing along Valerie and Lisa. All three sisters, Ginny, and two-week-old Kerin drove to Banff National Park in Alberta in January for a view of the mountains! She also attended multiple Anderson family reunions in Georgia. On her birthday one year, in her late seventies or early eighties, she said she wanted to celebrate with a canoe ride. Thus, a new tradition was born, where she made a yearly trek to Maine and then later to upstate New York, where her daughters lived near water. She would gather with family and enjoy paddling on Megunticook or Owasco Lake with a backdrop of beautiful fall colors. She was convinced to give up the paddle and enjoy the ride when she turned 94, and her last ride was just last year at age 96. Her last cross-country trip was in late June, when she attended her grandson Kyle’s wedding in Maine.

She had fourteen grandchildren (Kerin Duff, Brent Elisens, Michael and Cici Gorsch, Sam and Michael Latta, Matthew and Sara Peck, Brian and Evan Jones, and Allyson, Kyle, Chelsea, and Kerry Ettinger) and ten great-grandchildren (Liam, Avery and Charlotte Duff, Malachi Marti, Aria, Peyton, and Emma Gorsch, Caleb Latta, and Savannah and Hunter Latta). She was also looking forward to another great grandson, due on Valentine’s Day.

She was a very special person who was loved by many. She connected easily and positively with young and old, and made friends wherever she went. Her family will be forever grateful to have had her as long as they did, and she will be greatly missed.

A celebration of Virginia’s life will be held on Monday, October 21, 2024, at 1:00 p.m. at R.T. Foard and Jones, 122 W Main St, Newark, DE 19711. Family and friends may begin to arrive at 12:00 p.m. for visitation. The burial will follow at All Saints Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the “Newark Symphony Society” or “Newark United Methodist Church.” Please send any donations in care of and to the funeral home.