Virginia Ripley, 95

Cresco -  Virginia Ripley, 95, of Cresco, Iowa, (formerly of Lime Springs, Iowa), died on Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2017 at Evans Memorial Home in Cresco. 

Funeral services will be held on Friday, Jan. 27, 2017 at 2 p.m. at the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Lime Springs. Friends may call one hour prior to services at the church. Burial will be in Riverside Cemetery in Riceville, Iowa. Lindstrom Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.

Virginia Veronica Voyna was born on Dec. 19, 1921, on a Howard County farm in New Oregon Township to Frank and Victoria (Lundak) Voyna, joining two brothers and two sisters. She attended school through eighth grade, before helping on the family farm and caring for her mother, who died at age 50. She worked at a general store called Woolstein’s for a short time before her father became ill with cancer and she became his caregiver. After he died, the 26-year-old spent several years living with her sisters’ families, helping with their chores and their children.

Virginia Voyna and Clarence Ripley married on Nov. 12, 1952, at the Little Brown Church in Nashua, Iowa. The couple became members of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Lime Springs, where they lived on a farm they rented before buying a house in town. 

Virginia found herself a widow at age 46 with two young children, when her husband of 15 years died of a sudden heart attack while he was at home for lunch, on Nov. 16, 1967. 

Needing to find work to support her family, she did what she knew – cooking and cleaning. While her children were young, she worked part-time as a cook at the Lime Springs Elementary School, supplementing the income by cleaning houses, offices and the church. 

Virginia’s life revolved around her children, and she was their biggest fan in music, sports and journalism. 

She regretted not finishing school, so she studied and received her GED while her children were in high school. She then took a full-time job as a custodian at Crestwood High School, where she worked for many years before retiring at age 65.

Once retired, Virginia spent her time doing what she loved — growing flowers, fishing, quilting, reading and enjoying her two grandchildren who called her “Feisty Grandma.” 

Her faith was important to her, and she taught Sunday School and Vacation Bible School for many years.

She made her home at Cresco Assisted Living for seven years, before her declining health necessitated a move to Evans Memorial Home.

Virginia is survived by her daughter, Susan (Tom) Hejlik of Aurora, Ind.; son, James (Kathy) Ripley of Kenosha, Wis.; grandson, Erik Ripley of Waukesha, Wis.; granddaughter, Jacinda Ripley of Evanston, Ill.;  younger sister, Edith Meyer of Cresco; and several dear nieces and nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews and friends.

Besides her parents and husband, she was predeceased by two sisters, Mary Fye and Agnes Frana, and two brothers, William Voyna and Edmund Voyna.

Memorial donations may be made to the Education Fund at St. Paul Lutheran Church or the Humane Society of Northeast Iowa in Decorah, Iowa.