Virginia Roberts Rowe

Virginia Roberts Rowe, 94, of Orlando, Florida, passed away peacefully on Saturday, August 5, 2023.

Virginia was born on February 21, 1929, to John William and Jearline (Thronberry) Roberts in Wartrace, Coffee County, Tennessee. She graduated from Goodlettsville High School in 1946, and soon after moved to Florida, where she met and married her husband of 40 years, Bill. They moved to the southside of Jacksonville and became active members of Mandarin Baptist Church. A few years later they moved their membership to a new church in the area, San Jose Baptist Church, where she was a member for over 50 years.

The church was an important part of her life, and she actively served wherever she was needed. From singing in the choir, serving on search committees, to rocking her babies in the nursery, and cooking and serving countless meals for the congregation. Following her husband’s death in 1991, Virginia began working at the nearby polling location, managing the precinct until she retired after 20 years. She also volunteered for many years at the Mandarin Art Festival.

She loved to sew. Virginia was a seamstress for many in the Mandarin area most of her life. Even after relocating to Orlando, she joined the sewing group in her neighborhood, working on countless charitable projects such as T-shirt dresses and shorts for children in Haiti, adult bibs for local nursing homes, and cooling neck ties for soldiers. At home, most of her sewing was focused on making quilts, which she either gave away or donated to the NICU at Winnie Palmer Hospital for Children and Babies.

Virginia is survived by her three children, William Leslie Rowe, Jr., Lynne (Bill) Vogel, and Laurie (Bill) Boehm, grandchildren Kaley (Dennis) Bruce, and Christopher Vogel, and her great grandchildren Braxton and Emory Bruce, all of Orlando, and many nieces and nephews, including her niece by marriage, Jackie (Chuck) Gilio, of Jacksonville. She was preceded in death by her husband, William L. Rowe; her parents, sisters Lois (Tavner) Vantrease, Ruth (Bill) Matlock, Beryl Milam, Hazel (Roland) McKinnies, Jean (Sam) Pratt, Ann Roberts, Mary Helen (Charles) Riddle, Rebecca (Gene) Light; and brothers Jack (Bernice) Roberts, Baxter (Helen) Roberts, Russell (Julie) Roberts and Hugh (Louise) Roberts.

A graveside service will be held on Thursday, August 17, 2023, at Mandarin Cemetery, 12135 Mandarin Road, Jacksonville, FL 32223 at 11:00 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Virginia’s memory to your local hospice.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.hgmandarin.com for the Rowe family.