Obituary of Virginia T. Wakefield

Virginia T. Wakefield (Ginny) died April 3, 2024 at age 101. Born June 2, 1922, Ginny was the daughter of the late Joseph and Eva Taylor. Ginny was predeceased by her husband Ralph Wakefield, her son Andrew, and her sister Eva Wheatley. She is survived by two daughters, Susan Olesak, Martha Gilliland; and daughter-in-law, Dianne Wakefield; four grandchildren, John Olesak (Trang), Kate Ellingsen (Kris), Andrew Wakefield (Heather), Alexandra Miller (Luke); six great-grandchildren, Carley and Peyton Doughty, Olivia and JT Olesak, Hadley and Aiden Wakefield; and her brother Joseph Taylor.

Ginny lived a remarkable life. Born in Brooklyn, NY, the family moved to rural Chester County when she was an infant. Ginny, her older sister Eva and her younger brother Joe, lived in Charlestown until she was 13. The family’s home backed up to a stream. She told of how, in warm weather, her mother would bathe the three kids in the stream with the Ivory soap tied to a piece of twine. As Ginny entered her teen years, the family moved to Byers, near Eagle. Life in rural PA in the depression was primitive by today’s standards. There was an outhouse and a pump in the backyard. A reading of Mom’s teenage diary shows the monotony of country life during the Depression. For long stretches of time, the daily entry in the diary was “pared apples.” Decades later, Ginny was asked to describe Depression life to a middle school class. The students found it unbelievable that her entire wardrobe consisted of three dresses: one for school, one for church, and an old dress to wear for all other occasions. And one pair of lace-up shoes. As an adolescent in Byers, Ginny and her brother Joe spent their free time together, playing baseball, riding bikes, jumping off a near-by railroad trestle into the creek below.

After graduation from West Chester High School in 1940, Ginny’s mother took the train into Philadelphia and enrolled Ginny in business school, and she also arranged room with a respectable family, helping with the chores to pay for her room and board. After business school, Ginny was employed by a Philadelphia brokerage firm for ten years. She rented a small apartment, and her older sister Eva lived with her for a year or two.

Ginny married Ralph Wakefield in November 1948. The summer of 1949, they bought a small tent and some camping gear, beginning a lifelong practice of family camping. As children arrived, Susan, then Martha, and then Andy, and were inaugurated into the camping experience their very first summer. Ginny later lamented that disposable diapers were not available in the 1950’s, and that she spent every day on vacation boiling water, washing diapers in a large basin, hanging them on the clothesline, and hoping it would not rain. Camping vacations were a staple for the family. Every summer, Ralph and Ginny loaded up the pop-up camper, got the kids in the car (always with plenty of library books), and traveled all over the country. When her children started school, the family was living in Aston. Ginny became involved in the PTA, and was appointed chairman of the library committee, with the goal of funding and building a library. Her children helped glue paper pockets in the back cover of new books while Ginny typed the book cards and marked the book spines with a hot stylus. This experience crystallized Ginny's desire to become a librarian. In the fall of 1963, she enrolled full time at West Chester State Teachers College. She graduated in May 1967 and started teaching 4th grade that fall. For three years Ginny taught during the day and attended night classes at Villanova University, acquiring a Master’s Degree in library science. She became the librarian at Garnet Valley Junior Senior High School in 1970, a position she held until she retired in 1995.

Ginny was an active member of St. James Episcopal Church from 1955 until her eyesight forced her to stop driving in 2013. She served on the Vestry for many years. Ginny made sure that all her kids attended services every Sunday. When her driving days ended, Ginny began taking the bus to Lima Methodist Church, so that she could continue her life-long commitment to Sunday worship. Ginny spent six years as a Girl Scout troop leader when her daughters reached the age to begin scouting. With her love of camping, hiking, and outdoor activities, she immersed her troop in activities that insured the girls developed a love and appreciation of nature and the wilderness. Since her young son was a de facto member of the troop, all of Ginny’s children carried this love of the outdoors into adulthood. Ginny proudly saw all three of her children graduate from college.

In 1971 Ginny began bicycling. Within a few short years, she was completing longer and longer bike rides, participating in organized trips around the world, usually in the company of her best friend Joan Hendrickson. Her most distant and grueling trip was a three-week ride across New Zealand in 1987. Ginny’s love of bicycling kept her on her bike until her failing eyesight made the activity problematic when she reluctantly retired her bike.

Ginny was an amazing grandmother to her four grandchildren, John, Kate, Drew and Alex. She saw them as frequently as possible, and shared vacations with them. Camping trips, swim meets, and soccer games were fixtures on her calendar.  As the grandchildren grew up, great grandchildren followed, and she loved spending time with Carly, Olivia, JT, Peyton, Hadley, and Aiden.

About twenty years ago, Ginny had moved from her long-time home in Aston to Lima Estates, where she made new friends, learned to shoot pool, participated in the summer golf tournaments, Wii bowling, and competed in the Senior Olympics, bringing home the Trivial Pursuit gold medal numerous times.

When Ginny turned 100, her son Andy threw a large party to celebrate. Family came from near and far; long-time friends and former co-workers were also in attendance. A month later, Garnet Valley High School presented Ginny with a plaque to be hung outside the library, honoring Ginny's contributions and dedication to the students and her peers. Ginny was both pleased and gratified by this recognition.

All in all, truly a life well lived.

Visitation: Saturday, April 6^th after 1:00PM at Lima Estates, 411 N. Middletown Rd., Media, PA 19063.

Funeral Service: Saturday, April 6^th at 1:30PM at Lima Estates.

Burial will be private at Mt. Hope Cemetery.