Virginia L. Gilbert

Virginia Gilbert passed away on April 26, 2012. She was born on May 27, 1926, on the island of Corregidor in the Philippine Islands, to Colonel Walter Lee McCormick and Virginia Hardiman Wall McCormick. With her father in the military, she grew accustomed to moving to a new base every two years. She always said one of the hardest things about growing up in the military was leaving old friends behind…from the Philippines to Fort Monroe in Virginia, then back to the Philippines, to Fort Scott in San Francisco, to Fort Worden in Washington state, to Fort Ruger near Honolulu, and finally back to Fort Monroe, Virginia, her last military base.

Virginia graduated from high school in 1944 in Wilmington, North Carolina. She headed west to Pomona College in Claremont, California, where she met Cragg Gilbert who had just returned to Pomona after serving in WWII. She graduated in 1948, majoring in Biology, with a love for Mathematics, field hockey, and tennis. Having excelled at school, academics and education were extremely important in her life. Over the years she maintained close relationships with her college friends and relished getting together with them. After a year of teaching elementary school in Southern California, she married Cragg on June 25, 1949 in Redlands, California.

Virginia made Yakima her home for 63 years where she made many new friends. She loved to dance, party and play practical jokes with them. She was very involved in raising her four children, supporting her husband’s endeavors and giving grand gatherings with family and friends. Virginia, as an original member of “The Russians” reading group, met with her friends for stimulating discussions about literature for over forty years. With another group of special friends, she attended plays, operas, museums and ballets. Virginia was one of the founding members of the Yakima Tennis Club and St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church. She was very involved in the Yakima community supporting Allied Arts of Yakima, the Yakima Valley Museum, the Pegasus Project, Yakima Community College Scholarship Committee, the Warehouse Theater, Memorial Follies, and the Florence Wight Hospital Guild. She especially enjoyed serving on the board of Yakima Neighborhood Health.

Virginia was an avid reader and bridge player. Her wonderful cooking, baking and party-giving skills made holidays and birthdays special occasions for everyone. Virginia’s grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews remember her fun and loving spirit with great fondness. She loved to share her home on Lopez Island in the San Juans where many lasting memories were made with family and friends.

Virginia’s fifty-eight year marriage to Cragg ended with his passing in 2007. She was preceded in death by her parents and an older brother. She is survived by her sons, Curtiss (Julie), Cragg (Barbara), daughters, Anne “Purna” Rankin (David), Janie Plath (Clifford), all of Yakima. She had nine loving grandchildren: Nathaniel Gilbert, Sean Gilbert (Anna), Conor Gilbert, Christopher Rankin (Agustina), Meg Gilbert, Laura Rankin, Charlie Gilbert, Gilbert Plath, and Sarah Plath. In her final years she was blessed with three great-grandchildren: Luke and Liam Rankin, and Amelia Gilbert. She is also survived by her brother, James McCormick of San Juan Island, her sisters-in-law, Carol-Anne de La Chapelle, Betty Gilbert Boogard, and brother-in-law, Bruce Gilbert (Gail), and her many nieces and nephews.

We would like to thank two special caregivers, Lisa Tatro and Judy Hassannin who gave Mom special attention for many years. The family appreciates the excellent and warm care “Gigi” was given by the staff at Summitview Healthcare Center.

A memorial service to celebrate Virginia will be held at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, 4105 Richey Road at 4:00 p.m. on May 17, 2012. Remembrances may be made to the Yakima Valley Museum, the Pegasus Project, Yakima Neighborhood Health, St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, Allied Arts, YVC Scholarship Foundation or to the charity of your choice in care of Keith and Keith Funeral Home, 902 West Yakima Ave.

We will miss Mom’s love of life, her beautiful blue eyes, her infectious smile and warm embrace.