Virginia Anna Olsen

Virginia, also known as Ginny, graduated from high school in Nitro, West Virginia in 1947. She met her husband while attending Marshall (College) University in Huntington, West Virginia. They eloped to Ashland, Kentucky on November 8, 1948 where the legal age for marriage was under 21. While attending college she got a part-time job at Bradshaw-Diehl, a local department store. She swiftly climbed the sales ladder and was offered a full-time position as a Buyer for women’s clothing and lingerie that included trips to New York. In 1953 her husband got a job at Jeannette Glass prompting a move to Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Ginny quickly fit into local groups such as the Women’s Club, PTA, church choir, Bridge Club, and a local Art Club. She loved oil painting and she decorated the family home with several of her works. She was a federal census taker in 1960.

From 1956 to 1971 Ginny and her husband were members of the Brooks Bird Club in Wheeling, West Virginia. Every summer the Bird Club would hold a two-week Foray rotating the camps throughout various parts of West Virginia. The main purpose of the Foray was to create large defined areas in the surrounding forest to study birds. They would get up every morning at 4 am to walk the study areas for several hours and mark special maps indicating the number and movement of birds. To do this project they had to know all the birds by their song. The data collected was sent to Ohio State University and the US Department of the Interior for their science and environmental programs. Ginny was among the best of the Club members to know birds by their song. As part of the Foray there was also a nest finding contest. Every year that she attended Foray her team won the first-place trophy for finding the most nests in the two-week period. Ginny was always in high demand for both the Bird Census Studies and the Nest Teams.

In addition to summer trips through West Virginia, Ginny loved camping on weekends. In 1965 she and her husband bought a small trailer. Many weekends were spent in Kooser State Park near Somerset, PA. In 1970 they bought a lot to build a future house for retirement at Treasure Lake in Dubois, PA. The purchase included use of the campground where lifelong friends were made. One of her favorite trips was the one that she and her husband took to attend Expo 1967 in Canada. Over the years there had been many trips to Disney World with family, and cross-country trips with special friends. She enjoyed every trip she made.

Ginny had a passion for interior design which led her to start making draperies and top treatments for windows in the basement of the small house they bought in 1959. The high quality of her work spread by word of mouth and she soon found herself with a full-time business. One day at a Bridge Club gathering someone introduced her to Sally Levin of Levin’s Furniture in Mt. Pleasant, PA. Mrs. Levin loved Ginny the moment she met her. Levin’s had some very high-profile customers and referrals were immediate for Ginny’s work. Three of Ginny’s most famous jobs were at the Mellon Estate in Ligonier, the new Governor's Mansion in Harrisburg built in 1968, and The Seven Springs Resort for the Dupre Family in Somerset. She never had to advertise her business, which quickly grew. She had to move her workshop out of the basement to accommodate more sewing machines and fabrics and she hired three workers to help her. Extra drapery seamstresses were hired during busier times of the year such as the Holidays. Her husband helped her build the boards and boxes for the top treatments, and with the on-site installations.

Unfortunately, in 1971 her husband developed lung cancer and passed away at the young age of 45. Following his death she no longer wanted to continue her interior design and drapery business so she sold it to a furniture company. One of the fabric companies that she had done frequent business with knew of her situation and offered her a job as a Decorative Designer and Contract Manager. She sold her house, trailer and the lot at Treasure Lake and moved to Dayton, Ohio in 1974 to start another career with Payne Textiles and Fabrics. Over the years the company slowly faced competition from imports of cheaper, poor-quality fabrics and was forced to close in 2001.

After living in Dayton for a couple of years a friend asked her to redecorate an old farmhouse that was in Waynesville, Ohio. Following completion of this project, the owner was so happy with her work that she was asked to occupy the home. Ginny moved in and lived there for over 20 years. She loved “the farm” and filled it with her angel collection. Even though she was working full-time in Dayton, she found part time work at Waynesville Furniture and Décor on weekends where everyone in the community knew her. Each year Waynesville had a Sauerkraut Festival and she joined the planning committee to help. The Sauerkraut Festival remains an annual celebration in the town and Ginny’s family was fortunate to have joined her several times for this wonderful event.

As Payne Textiles and Fabrics closed their doors, Ginny was offered a position as a Contract Manager and Decorative Products Consultant with Standard Textile in Cincinnati, Ohio. This role expanded her product sales offerings but still included draperies and top treatments for windows. Her customer base changed from individuals to businesses and she traveled all over the United States. In 2010 the company was forced to restructure and the decorative products division was closed.

At 81 years of age her full-time career was over. Despite making lifelong friends in Ohio, she left Waynesville and moved to PA to be closer to her daughters.

In 2010 she settled into her new home in North Coventry, PA. She found time to do activities that included gardening, shopping, sewing, needlepoint, shopping, visiting her grandchildren, and more shopping. If someone needed an item at a good price she could find it. One of her favorite stores was Talbots and she turned her oldest daughter into a “Talbots Girl” who wore beautiful suits and dresses for work. Ginny was always a “fashionista” dressing up for all occasions. She wore pant suits in the 1960s when it was still considered scandalous for women. Every outfit she wore had matching shoes, bag and jewelry. She prided herself on always looking stylish. On a trip to Great Britain she took the train and managed to find the only Talbots store in London.

At Christmas she loved to make her famously thin pizzelles with an old recipe that no one has ever been able to copy in flavor or crunch. She would stand for hours making large batches of two pizzelles at a time. Then she would carefully wrap them and give them to her friends and family. Everyone loved her pizzelles.

She was also a member of TRACC in Pottstown where she enjoyed playing canasta and pinocle.

Despite her busy retirement, she missed working. By 2011, Ginny was able to find part-time work at Costco in Sanatoga, PA. Until the age of 95 she worked as a Sample Lady enjoying interactions with customers and coworkers. She was known at Costco as “Miss Virginia.” She loved everything Costco but she especially loved her coworkers and customers. She had many customers who would only shop on the days Ginny was scheduled to work.

As her health declined, she moved to a nursing home. She made fast friends with the residents, first on her floor and then on two other floors. There were multiple aides, nurses, and other nursing home staff who got to know her and love her, and her “Miss Virginia” name continued. She taught residents how to play dominoes and different card games. She still had a passion for art but the “old bones” in her neck and shoulders would not cooperate with painting, so she learned to skillfully use colored pencils. She was a lifelong Steelers fan and she faithfully wore her Steelers shirt in support of her favorite team whenever there was a game.

Even at the age of 96, she remembered the names of everyone who visited her. She loved the kindness and hugs she received from nursing home staff, visitors, and family members. Her body gave up but her mind remained sharp.

She never remarried. Instead she became fiercely independent, right up to the end of her life.

Some of her family and friends may have departed this life ahead of her, but she will be deeply missed by the ones she has left behind.

Ginny leaves behind her memorial to be cherished by her daughters Cheryl Barr (Paul) of Pottstown; and Karen Mockler (Dennis) of Matthews, North Carolina grandchildren: Michael Barndt (Pamela), Kristin Young (Peter), Allison Pozzi (Matt), Kelly Corby (Casey) and Richie Barr (Ruth) great grandchildren: Ricky, Taylor, Callie, Marlee, Margot, Carrig, Cora, Carson, Charlotte, Clark and one great-great grandchildren Alora.

Along with her parents and husband, Ginny is predeceased by her siblings: Kathryn, Joy, Duncan, John D. Bruffey, Jr.,a grandchild Robert “Robbie” Barr and one great grandchild Tyeler and Jordan Barr.

Warker~Troutman Funeral Home Inc is honored to serve the Olsen family.