Saturday, February 21st, 2015
Virginia Wood
Virginia "Jinny" Lee Wood, 85, Celina, formerly of Rockford, passed away at 5:05 p.m. Feb. 19, 2015, at the Otterbein St. Marys Senior Lifestyle Community in St. Marys.
She was born July 24, 1929, in Cincinnati, to Joseph James and Virginia Blasing Meyer.
Surviving are three daughters, Sheila (Mark Linn) Baltzell, Celina, Holly P. Wood (Paul) Pabis, Rehoboth, Mass., and Colleen (Wally) O'Steen, Huntsville, Ala.; eight grandchildren, Christopher (Leslie) Baltzell, Celina, Scott (Carianne) Baltzell, Mansfield, Dr. Thomas (Dr. Ann) Baltzell, Dublin, Jonathan Pabis and Stephanie Pabis, both of Rehoboth, Mass., Haley O'Steen, Rosalind O'Steen, and Claire O'Steen, Huntsville, Ala; and eight great-grandchildren, Joe, Dylan, Grace, Alexander, Ava, Samuel, Jacob and Lydia Baltzell.
Also deceased are her former husband and friend, Duane R. Wood, who passed away in 1998; son-in-law, Larry Baltzell; and a brother, James Meyer, and his wife Marcia Meyer.
She graduated from St. Marys Memorial High School in 1947, and attended Wright State University in Celina. She was a journalist for the St. Marys Evening Leader the Bluffton News Banner, in Bluffton, Ind. She lived in Tupelo, Miss. for 20 years, and while there, worked at the Tupelo Women's Shelter and at Olan Mills Photography Studio, where she won top sales awards several years.
Upon moving back to the area, she became a member of the Ft. Recovery Church of Christ. She was a founding member of the Grand Lake Patriots in Celina, and also was a founding member of the Celina Civic Theater. She was active in the Rockford Variety Shows and loved performing at the Chatt Farmers Picnic with her three daughters. She sang at numerous nursing homes in the area as well as in Mississippi while she lived there. Dixie and Dolly, her Maltese dogs, were the joy of her life in her later years, giving her much companionship. She loved spending time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and getting together with her daughters was a joy.
Services are 10 a.m. Tuesday at Ketcham-Ripley Funeral Home, Rockford. Burial will follow at Riverside Cemetery, Rockford.
Friends may call from 4-8 p.m. Monday and 9-10 a.m. Tuesday at the funeral home.
Memorials may be directed to the Grand Lake Patriots.
Condolences may be expressed at ketchamripley.com.
