Virginia Elizabeth Conoly passed away in Ft. Worth, Texas on Sunday, September 15, 2019 at the ripe “young” age of 98. She had been in hospice care for the past 8 months. Rosary will be held at Sparkman Crane Funeral Home at 10501 Garland Rd. in Dallas, Texas on Thursday, Sept. 19th at 7:00pm. Funeral Mass and Interment will be on Friday, September 20th, at 10:00am at Calvary Hill Cemetery and Mausoleum, North Chapel, in Dallas, Texas at 3235 Lombardy Lane.
Virginia or “Ginny” as she was known to her family and friends, was born April 14, 1921 in Rome, Georgia to Smiley and Jennie (Grubbs) Wallace. She was the oldest of three children and loved her mother and father very much. As many southern families of that day often did, Ginny’s family lived in close proximity to one another which made it possible to spend quality time together and create many wonderful childhood memories. In particular she enjoyed relationships with her paternal grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.
Virginia and her family moved from Rome to McGregor, Texas in the 1940’s. It was while working at Southwestern Bell Telephone Company in Waco, Texas as a telephone line operator that she met her future husband, Charles Conoly, Jr. of Dallas, Texas. The story goes that Charles came into the office where the operators were working, looked up and down the line of operators and singled Virginia out saying, “That’s the girl I’m going to marry!” It didn’t take long for him to “persuade” Virginia that they were going to get married. She was hesitant at first to do so, but his persistence paid off as they were married in a little church outside of McGregor, Texas on March 12, 1948. As Virginia grew older in the course of their 61 years of marriage, she grew to appreciate the gift that God had given her in Charles. It was a whirlwind romance in the beginning but one that Ginny reflected upon for many, many years especially after Charles’ death 10 years ago.
Virginia and Charles moved a bit in the early years of their marriage but eventually settled in Dallas, Texas in the late 1950’s. They had two daughters by now and began attending St. Pius X Catholic Church in the early years of its existence. Virginia was very active in her church and she enjoyed the opportunity to serve as a Brownie Leader, member of the Ladies Circle Group, Bazaar Committee, and other volunteer positions. She made many friendships while at St. Pius and treasured her time there. Throughout her life, Virginia would frequently say how important her Catholic faith had been to her and how it had sustained her.
Virginia was gifted and creative in many areas. An organizer by nature, she had a multitude of hobbies - crafts, gardening, bookkeeping, ceramics, scrapbooking and her greatest passion, genealogy. As a gift to Virginia one year, Charles had a concrete slab poured in the backyard of their Dallas home and built a large building in which she could make ceramics by kiln, flower arrangements, holiday decorations, and other crafts. This building became known as “Nana’s Nook”. Her grandchildren had a fun time “playing” in this nook whenever they visited. Virginia was so creative that you could give her a piece of string, a rock, and a hot glue gun and she would transform it into the most beautiful Thanksgiving centerpiece you had ever seen. Her keen eye for detail only enhanced things. She could often be found planning family gatherings whether for an inside July 4th picnic or a festive Christmas Day dinner.
With their daughters grown with families of their own, Virginia and her husband moved back to Waco in 1993 so that she could be near her kin in that area. They enjoyed a sweet life together in their golden years while living in Waco. In 2005 they moved to the Arlington, Texas area where they could be closer to their daughter, Candy, and her family because Charles’ health had begun to decline for a while. The independent living facility afforded her the opportunity to make many new friends and participate in even more activities. After Charles died in 2009, Virginia remained at the independent living apartment until late 2016 when her own health required a change to an assisted living facility. Her family is so grateful for the years God gave them with her.
Our Beloved Mother and Grandmother, Virginia, was preceded in death by her mother and father, little brother Smiley Wallace Jr., sister Edith Crouch, Virginia’s husband, Charles, grandson, Adam Conoly Cooper, and her granddaughter, Libby Wofford Groves. She is survived by her daughters, Cindy Wofford and husband Gary of Thornton, Colorado and Candy Cooper and husband Mark, of Hurst, Texas; seven grandchildren: Traci and Jose Franco of Hurst, TX, Jason and Lisa Schultz of Littleton, CO, Tom and Sondra Wofford of Granbury, TX, Jennifer and Rand Sheldon of Brighton, CO, David and Carol Cooper of Houston, TX, Jonathan and Christine Cooper of Roanoke, Texas and Hannah Cooper of Ft. Worth, TX; nine great grandchildren: Savannah Sheldon, Sierra Sheldon, Conley Schultz, Raylan Schultz, Mitchel Motchenbaugh, Charlie Cooper, Nora Cooper, Patrick Cooper, and Adelaide Cooper; and niece Tammy Curry of Lufkin, TX. In lieu of flowers the family requests that you make a donation to Community Hospice of Texas.
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