Virginia Skiff Brutschy

1923-2016

Virginia “Ginny” Skiff Brutschy died peacefully at the Community Hospital of Monterey Peninsula on Friday, July 1, 2016 after a brief illness. She was 93. Virginia was born in Cleveland, OH to Warner Mason and Katherine Nicholson Skiff. Her father was an executive at General Electric’s Nela Park Lighting Division. She grew up in Shaker Heights, OH before moving in 1940 with her family to Palo Alto, CA. She graduated from Palo Alto High School and attended the University of Arizona where she graduated in 1944 as a proud member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. She furthered her education at Radcliffe College (part of Harvard University), earning a business degree. While there, she met the love of her life, Frederick J. Brutschy, who was obtaining his PhD at Harvard in organic chemistry. They were married in 1946 and settled in Berkeley, CA. After 8 years in Berkeley, they moved to Los Altos Hills, CA, where they lived for over 50 years. In 2005, they completed and moved into their dream home at the Santa Lucia Preserve in Carmel Valley, CA. They enjoyed spending time sailing, attending opera and symphony performances in San Francisco, and treating their children and grandchildren to special experiences in the Bay Area and around the world.

She is survived by sons Mason S. Brutschy and his wife Mary Beth of Atherton, CA and Lance F. Brutschy and his wife Robin of Hilton Head Island, SC; and three grandchildren, Carter Mason Brutschy, Evan McCall Brutschy, and Lacey Skiff Brutschy.

Her husband preceded her in death in 2011.

She will be dearly missed by all of her family, friends, and members of the Preserve community.

A private memorial will be held with her family later this summer in Carmel Valley.

Donations may be made to: Westland House, c/o Montage Health, PO Box HH, Monterey, CA 93942. Givetochomp.org