Virginia “Ginny” Johnson, 89 year old resident of Upsala, MN passed away Tuesday, May 21, 2019 at the St. Cloud Hospital. A Celebration of Life Service will be held at a later date. Burial will take place in Ohio.
Virginia “Ginny” Willis was born on January 24, 1930 in Portsmouth, Ohio. Virginia worked 25 years at Kobackers in Portsmouth, Ohio, as the manager of the infant/children department. While working there, she took training to be a hairdresser. She owned and operated Ginny’s Beauty Shop for 15 years, before retiring to Florida. She enjoyed her grandchildren and step-grandchildren. She loved traveling and seeing new things. She had a strong Southern Baptist Faith. As a teenager, she would take her younger siblings to church on Sundays. They would walk to church all in a row, as there were 10 of them. She loved Gospel music and knew many songs by heart. She loved to share her testimony of God and of the wonderful things he did. Ginny quit school her Sophomore year to work and help her parents to support her siblings. She would help her family and any friends in any way she could. She would volunteer at the old Wheelersburg Children’s Home, helping mend the broken hearts of many children that were left there by their parents. She taught her siblings how to clean the house and cook. Living in a small house that was crowded, everything had to be in its place. She never met a stranger. She would talk to anyone she met. She had a wonderful heart. She will be missed by many.
Ginny is survived by her daughter, Connie (Randy) Shy, of West Portsmouth, OH; granddaughter, Rebecca and Gary Sparks; grandchildren, Gabby, Kimmy and Benjamin Sparks all of West Portsmouth, OH; grandson, Anthony Shy of West Portsmouth, OH; sisters, Janet (Carter) Johnson of Wheelersburg, OH, Sandra Rigsby of Clermont, Fl; brothers, Mike (Kim) Willis, Gary Willis of Sierra Vista, AZ; step-sons, Steven (Brenda) Johnson, David (Suzanne) Johnson of Upsala, MN, Paul (Nancy Johnson) of Staples, MN; step-daughters, Karen (Fran) Koshenina, of Upsala, MN, Sandra (Jim) Carlson of Staples, MN, Gretchen (Jon) Schaumann of Champlin, MN, Ingrid (Stu) Johnson of Upsala, MN; many step-grandchildren and great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
Ginny was preceded in death by her first husband, William Bruce Miler, whom she married November 7, 1954 in Portsmouth, OH. William passed away July 4, 1993, in Clermont, FL; second husband, Ralph Johnson, whom she married December 7, 1996. Ralph passed away May 8, 2019 at St Cloud Hospital, St. Cloud, MN. Her parents, George William and Maude Mae Stone Willis, sister, Sharon Blakley, brothers, Raymond, Richard, Robert and Lloyd Willis.