Virginia M. Giese Dickey

Virginia M. (Giese) Dickey died on Sunday, November 21 of complications from surgery for lung cancer. She was 81 and lived a full and active life. Virginia was born and raised in Los Angeles. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Southern California where she was a Homecoming Princess and a member of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority. Virginia graduated from the University of Southern California Law Center in 1952 where she had a distinguished record. She was on the Southern California Law Review and was the only woman in her law school class to graduate.

Following graduation, Virginia worked as a research attorney for the Los Angeles Superior Court. In 1955 she married John W. Dickey, a fellow USC Law Center graduate. Virginia subsequently left law practice to raise her family. She found time to hone her skills in cooking, knitting, sewing and cake decoration. A lifelong resident of Southern California, she enjoyed travel to distant and exotic places. Virginia, her husband and her son Daniel shared a love of orchids. They raised many prize winning orchids and belonged to various southern California orchid societies. Virginia also loved long-haired dachshunds, beautifully designed clothes and all things Asian. She is survived by her daughters Dorothy and Denise, son Daniel, and granddaughter Deanna. Her daughters followed her (and their father's) footsteps and became lawyers while her son has carried on the family tradition of growing orchids. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, December 4 at 1 p.m. at Saint Patrick's Episcopal Church, 1 Church Rd., Thousand Oaks, CA 91362. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Santa Monica College Foundation, 1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90405 or to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, P.O. Box 780, New York, NY 10008-0780.