Virginia Mae Cavicke

January 1931 – October 2025

A funeral mass is planned for Tuesday, December 9th at 10am, at All Hallows Church, located at 6602 La Jolla Scenic Drive South, La Jolla, CA 92037

Virginia Cavicke, beloved wife of Captain Richard “Dick” Cavicke, Sr., USN (RET), and cherished mother and friend, known for her kindness, intellect, and wit, passed away peacefully in October 2025 in her La Jolla home surrounded by her loving family.

Born and raised in Illinois, Virginia graduated from Mundelein College and later pursued a career in education after relocating to San Francisco, California, in the early 1950s.

During one of her many early travel adventures, Virginia serendipitously met her soon-to-be husband, Dick, on the white sands of Honolulu, HI, in the early 1950s, beginning a lifelong marriage and partnership built on their shared Catholic faith, humor, love of travel, and a joyful approach to life that colored every year they shared.

In the years that followed, Dick and Virginia relocated to numerous cities across the United States, wherever Dick’s role as a Naval Officer/Aviator required—including Sunnyvale, Solana Beach, and La Jolla, CA; Newport, RI; and McLean, VA. Along the way, they were blessed with four children: Nancy, Richard Jr., Christopher, and Janet. Wherever they lived, Virginia created a warm, inviting home and made community and lifelong friendships.

Determined that their children should visit and learn of the historic and cultural treasures of each new city they called home, local museums, galleries, botanic gardens, and famous parks became common outing destinations.

Throughout Dick’s many military deployments, Virginia carried the full weight of family life with extraordinary grace. She raised their four children largely on her own, keeping the household running, tending to every skinned knee, late-night homework assignment, and ride to baseball or gymnastics practice. Even while managing these responsibilities, she continued to give generously of her time to her community—volunteering and supporting fellow military spouses, offering comfort during difficult deployments, and serving as an Ombudsman.

Virginia was endlessly curious and had a penchant for art history, theatre, show tunes, travel, and all things literary. In her early years, she traveled widely and delighted in sharing stories of her adventures in Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Italy, and France.

Exceptionally well read, she was gifted with an expansive and elegant vocabulary. A true bibliophile and lifelong learner, while in La Jolla, Virginia kept up with her personal interests and book club choices by frequenting the book stacks at Warwick’s and the La Jolla Library. Collecting and sharing newspaper clippings with her children and grandchildren was one of her many love languages.

Virginia had a wonderful sense of humor and a predilection for turning any word or phrase into a show tune of her own creation. This genetic trait presents in three of her four children. Even in her later years, her spontaneous, self-deprecating humor remained delightfully unexpected and a valued stress relief. She would get big laughs by singing the Indiana Jones theme song while transiting the long hallway at home with her walker: “Da-da-da-daaah, da-da-daaah!”

Possessing a veritable green thumb, she was a horticulture enthusiast who loved spending time in her garden planting, cultivating, pruning, and watering her beautiful fuchsias to her heart’s content. She could handily identify obscure plants and often sent nursery experts to their reference sources.

She delighted in talking to strangers and was always ready with a clever quip or keen observation. What should have been a quick grocery run routinely transformed into a spontaneous symposium on the price of wheat germ —or whatever amusing tangent she inspired.

Virginia wore her Catholic faith on her sleeve and was courteous and respectful to friend and stranger alike. Her enduring love, warmth, optimism and kindness will forever be missed. May God grant her eternal rest and may the warmth of our love shine upon her always.