Virginia A. Lobdell

Virginia Ann (Knapp) Lobdell, age 90, passed quietly at home, surrounded by loving family, early December 6th, 2025. She was born in 1935 in a little hospital on Clark Street, Deposit, that is now a family home. Virginia, known as Ginny to friends, lived on Melody Hill outside of Afton when she was a young girl, and then on Butts Road outside of Masonville through her teen years. She graduated from Bainbridge High School in 1954. LaVern Lobdell, of Deposit, New York, won Ginny’s heart after buying her a horse, named Rusty, and building a barn and fence to keep it in. She married Vern after high school and ended up raising a family in a small farm house in Sherman, Pennsylvania. Ginny ran a household that allowed the children to really live, to romp and play inside, and to frolic in the swimming hole and roam outside on horseback.

Ginny was widowed at the age of 38 when Vern died of a heart attack, so to provide for four children, she worked as an aide on a school bus for Deposit schools, and later worked at Amphenol in Sidney, New York. Her family spent many years coming together at that farmhouse, and the grandchildren learned to ride horses, love animals, and respect nature with their Nanny. What most people will remember about Ginny is her love of animals, domestic and wild, especially Billy Jo the spider monkey. The one concern her family has now for her is that after passing, she will be trampled from the army of horses, dogs, cats, a monkey, and rescued racoons and possums that will be racing across the Rainbow Bridge to meet her. Ginny’s family remembers her sense of humor, even hours before death when she cursed the Marlboro Man’s good looks for making smoking seem so sexy.

Virginia is survived by her children: Bambi Lobdell, James Lobdell, Lori Phelps, and Janine Carpenter; her grandchildren: Teresa Randle, Alaina Randle, Diggwynn Lobdell, Brad Lobdell, Erin Lobdell, Diamond Brown, Jacob Lobdell, and Sawyer Lobdell, and great-grandchildren John Ballard, Chase Ballard, and Xavier Overton.

A celebration of life will be planned for spring, and will be announced at that time. In lieu of flowers, anyone wishing to make donations should send them to their local SPCA animal shelter in her name.