Hendricks, Virginia Harris
Virginia Harris Hendricks died on May 28, 2015, after a long, rich life of family, service, and creativity centered around her beloved Southern Baptist Church and God. In 1944, she caught the eye of an officer and WWII pilot, William T. Hendricks and with him built a family with her three surviving sons, Bill, Bob, and Joe.
She also extended her love and care to her brothers, sisters, nephews, and nieces, sending letters and cards, working hard to stay connected to family. She especially loved her five granddaughters, Margie, Joanna, Sarah, Ruth, and Mary, who loved her in return, seeing her as full of “grace, love, charm, creativity, and faith.” She even extended her love and care beyond family in her “call” to be a superb hostess and provide a temporary haven for many Southern Baptist leaders and missionairies.
She loved God and her church. If our church held a service, we were there, three or more times a week for years. She served her churches as pianist, Sunday School teacher, Vacation Bible School teacher, WMU president, youth leader, and in any other capacity they asked. She served on state committees and on the Southern Baptist Christian Life Commission, which worked on issues of ethics, race, and poverty.
She was proud of her artistic life. She made oil paintings, dresses, decoupages, needlework, and more. She even taught herself photography and sold photos of scenes in Europe. But her first love was writing. In the 1950s, she had a regular newspaper column “Globe-Trotting with Ginny.” She wrote a teen missions study book and over 50 articles for Southern Baptist publications. Her crowning achievement was writing The Girl in the Tapestry, a historical Christian teen novel set in France during the bitter religious wars that provided no religious freedom.
She enriched the world while she lived, and her mark on it will persist through the many lives she touched.
A memorial service will celebrate her life at Blacksburg Baptist Church on Saturday, June 6, 2015 at 3:00 pm with Dr. Tommy McDearis and Rev. Todd Millsaps officiating. Graveside services will be held Saturday, June 6, 2015 at 2:00 pm in the Westview Cemetery, Blacksburg. The family will receive friends immediately following the service at Blacksburg Baptist Church. Arrangements by McCoy Funeral Home, Blacksburg.