Virginia passed away after a long, incredibly brave, and spirited battle with multiple illnesses on January 8, 2022, at the age of 86.

She was born in Hays, Kansas, into a loving second generation German-American family. The family moved to Arcata, when she was very young, after her father answered a newspaper ad and got a job through the mail working as a refrigerator repairman for Brizzards.

She met her husband Ken at HSU in 1954, where he was taking graduate courses after two years in the US Navy. She worked after marriage as a legal secretary for Mitchell & Henderson in Eureka, and then for Mahan and Harland in Fortuna prior to the birth of their first child. Thereafter, she stayed home to raise their four children until she began to work part time at Kemp’s Nursery in Fortuna, which she and Ken purchased in the early 1960’s. When they sold that business in the mid-‘70s, she worked for a number of years at College of the Redwoods as a secretary for the Police Academy and then for the dental program. In 1980, she and Ken, together with their son Todd, opened the Sport & Cycle Stores in Fortuna and Eureka and she worked there until retirement.

Virginia loved her family and friends dearly and had many hobbies, including drumming after she took lessons at the age of 82! She was known by their many friends as a wonderful hostess and cook, serving her gourmet “themed” dinners, with corresponding exquisite table settings. She inherited a love of plants and gardening from her mother, and could be found outside weeding or potting up new plants in her greenhouse anytime the weather allowed.

She and Ken traveled the world-both near and far – extensively, both with their many friends and family. It was traditional that they take their children and spouses on some sort of travel adventure yearly until her heath precluded travel.

She was a devout Catholic, and said often that if everyone in the world said the rosary every morning as did she (her “coffee with Mary time”, as she referred to it), there would finally be peace on earth. She was a member of The Fortuna St. Joseph Catholic Church, The Humboldt Botanical Society, The Fortuna Garden Club, and Humboldt Sponsors.

She is survived by her children Todd (Toni) Dunaway, Tracy (Penny) Dunaway, and Debra (Chris) Heckert, and grandchildren Taryn Dunaway, Brooke Dunaway, Michael Price, and Lani Gauntlett as well as siblings Norman Barker, Cynthia (Dave) Bibler, Mary Jane (Cowboy) Finn-Broadwater.

A private family service will be held at Sunrise Cemetery in Fortuna. Donations in her honor may be made to the charity of your choice.

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