PHIPPS, Virginia 'Ginny' Grace - Peacefully on March 1st, 2021, just short of her 99th birthday, with her son and daughter by her side.
Beloved wife of Bill (died 2008) for 65 years.
Dearly loved mother and mother-in law of Bill and Elaine Phipps, and Carol and John Gladwell. Adoring Grandma of Diane and Katherine Phipps and Heather Sanger (Andrew), Alex Gladwell (Brea Faulkner) and Laura Gladwell (Carl Schilde). Great-grandma of Kai William Sanger.
Predeceased by her sister Catherine Currey and sister-and brother-in-law Myrtle and Bob Griffiths. Remembered with great affection by her brother-in-law Norman Currey. Mom was a very special aunt, cousin and friend to many.
Mom was born on the first day of spring to Virginia and Thomas Hislop. She later shared this birthdate with her youngest grandchild, Laura, whom she said was the best birthday present ever. She welcomed, one by one, each of her five wonderfully unique grandchildren with open arms and immense joy.
Mom and Dad would say it was “love at first sight” when they saw each other across the way at Northern Secondary School in North Toronto, and they married at 21 at St. Timothy’s Anglican Church in 1943. Shortly after began a two-and-a-half year separation when Dad went overseas with the RCAF. Their reunion after this lengthy, very stressful time of WWII was a joyous and blessed relief. You can see this on both their faces in a photograph labelled, simply, “Bill - home again.” Later the two began to raise their “millionaire’s family.” For 65 years they walked hand in hand through the many joys and sorrows life brought them.
Mom wrote beautiful poems, prose, letters and journals, and was a rapid-fire typist and master of shorthand. During her secretarial career she worked under several principals at York Mills Public School. We teased that it was she who truly ran the school as she was intimately involved with its inner workings and always on deck. Kids loved going to the office to hang out with “Mrs. Phipps”, who would tend to their cuts, bruises and feelings. Ginny endeared herself to parents, teachers and maintenance people alike, and often regaled us with funny stories about her school.
Mom was a craftswoman, scrapbook maker, and baker of delicious treats. Family favourites were her shortbreads, pineapple upside down cake, strawberry shortcake, boston cream cake and her and Dad’s oatmeal cookies, sometimes with dates or chocolate chips. Like Dad, she was a lover of music and singing, which lifted her up and often brought tears to her eyes, right to the end. No stranger to heartache or challenges in life, she fully appreciated and savoured simple pleasures.
Mom cried and laughed easily. Though rarely the one to crack a joke, she had a great sense of humour and was more than happy to provide an appreciative and sometimes uproarious audience, especially to John. She was sentimental, sensitive, playful, intuitive and more than a little psychic. Mom made our house a beautiful home and worked hard outside of it through to retirement, when she enjoyed travelling with Dad, a winter home in Florida and later one in Bobcaygeon.
Throughout her life Ginny embodied grace, so it is fitting that it was her second name. She was a lady in every sense of the word. Elegant and stylish, she enjoyed vibrant clothing and colourful, delicate jewelry, which highlighted and reflected her natural and inner beauty.
Our heartfelt gratitude to Katherine and Rosario for their exceptional loving and respectful care of Mom, to the 3rd floor staff at Glynnwood Retirement Residence who greatly contributed to her wellbeing, and to all our friends there, who appreciated Mom for the sweetheart and beauty she was. Very special thanks to Mom’s longtime doctor, Janet Morse, for always going above and beyond.
A clipping from the comic series “Family Circus” found in one of Mom’s old scrapbooks reads: “A century from today These things won’t mean a thing: The house we lived in The money we made The kind of car we drove... But the world will be a better place Because our children were loved.”
We hope Mom fully realized the lasting impact of her warmth, caring, affection, and generosity on all of us. With Dad she created a legacy of abiding love and knowing they are together again in the spirit world warms our hearts as we grieve.
Ginny will be greatly missed by the many whose lives she touched. A gathering to celebrate her life will be planned at a later date. Arrangements entrusted with Kane-Jerrett funeral homes.
Donations to a charity of your choice in Ginny’s memory would be appreciated by the family.
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