Virginia "Ginny" Keller 1936 - 2021

Virginia “Ginny” Keller, loving mother of three and grandmother of two, passed away early on the morning of November 24, 2021, at her home in McMinnville, Oregon, after a brief battle with abdominal cancer and related health issues. She was 85. Ginny had a passion for cooking, film and making others laugh. She was an avid reader of everything from Norse mythology to detective fiction, with a particular fondness for Tolkien. On any given day in late spring through our long summer evenings, she could be found sitting on the porch swing, book in one hand, coffee mug in the other. She was a caring, unselfish person with fun and love in her heart. She kept mostly to herself, but those who knew her loved her very much.

Ginny was born in Denver, Colorado, in 1936, and moved to Phoenix, Arizona, in the '70s and worked as a lab technician in a hospital for most of her life. Fifteen years ago, she moved to McMinnville with her youngest daughter and family. Ginny loved this quaint town, picturesque valley, the drive to the coast, the vast ocean and forests, all the green, an ice-cold beer, and watching her granddaughters grow into beautiful young adults.

Ginny was passionate about history and travel. She frequently stayed with her oldest daughter and son-in-law in the Netherlands, where they spent many visits exploring WWII cemeteries and memorial sites in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Austria and France. Ginny’s lifetime wish was to see Scotland and to visit a German Biergarten, which she did with gusto in 2001. She would often quote Bilbo Baggins, saying, "I think I’m quite ready for another adventure."

We remember her today through these lines by William Stafford: “We were traveling between a mountain and Thursday, / holding pages back on the calendar, / remembering every turn in the roadway, / We could hold that sky, we said, and remember.”

A private memorial service will be announced to family and close friends. To leave online condolences, please visit www.macyandson.com
Ginny is survived by her children, Kip and Joanne Keller, Kathy Keller and Dirk Izelaar, and Kerrie and Brent Savage; and her grandchildren, Sierra and Serengeti Savage and Richard Smith.