Virginia Francis Dixon was borned on July 7th, 1920 in Tacoma, WA at Tacoma Genderal Hospital.  She was the oldest of twins and her sister, Vera Freda was born a few minutes later.  Her parents were Mami Li Dixon and William Arthur Dixon.  Although her mother had given birth to two sets of twins of each gender, tiplets and a single girl, only 1 child a brother was living  at the time of Virginia's birth.  His name was Raymond and he was not only a beloved older brother, but became the protector of the girls when their mother died only 6 years after their birth.

Virginia's childhood was difficult since she and her siblings lost their mother when they were only 6 years of age.  They along with their brother were sent on a train ride that took them thousands of miles away from Tacoma, to Columbus, Ohio to live with their paternal grandmother, Virginia Francis Dixon Jordan.  Virginia was named after this remarkable woman, who grew up on a plantation outside of Fairfax, Virginia and was freed when she chosen by Theodore Dixon, a freed slave to become his wife.  She travelled with her new husband to Tennessee, Kentucky and finally settled in Columbus, Ohio.  After losing her second husband, a Spanish American War Veteran, she became a businesswoman and ran a boarding house and worked as a caterer.  She was in her 70s when her son begged her to raise his orphaned children.

Mrs. Jordan, as Virginia's grandmother was known doted on her grandchildren and struggled to raise them on limited funds.  As her health faded, she requested that her son send for the family and Virginia and Vera and Raymond returned to Tacoma, WA.   

Virginia and Vera attended Bethelam Baptish Church, McCarver junior high school and Stadium H.S. in Tacoma, WA.  Their road was extremely difficult given the virulent racism at the time in the Tacoma Public Schools and their added burden of being bi racial.  Their mother had been a Chinese American daughter of a literate Chinese immigrant in Oregon and her father had been a college education African American, who journey to the Pacific Northwest in 1906.  Virginia, Vera and Raymond were not totally accepted in the Black community and completely shut off from the Chinese American community and viciously discriminated by the majority White community.  

Virginia however was a strong women and with the help of her siblings and love of her grandmother she was able to make a life for herself. She went on to marry 3 times and had two daughters, Marie and Deanna.  She struggled to support them by cleaning houses for wealthy White women and managed to send them to a private Catholic school for a few years.  She eventually became a homeowner in the Fern Hill community.

In her senior years, she became an avid dog lover and her long walks with her various dogs no doubt kept her body agile long into her early 90s.  Since her teen years, she was a classical movie buff and she and her twin sister spent many hours watching and critiquing movies from Hollywood's Golden Age.

Virginia was also very political and kept up with the news and supported various progressive movements.  In the 1990s, she was honored for her voting record--she never missed an election for 66 years!

Virginia Hayes leaves behind dozens of grandchildren, great grandchildren and great great grandchildren as well as generations of nieces and nephews.  She will be greatly missed, but always in our heart.

Her loving niece,  Darlene Conley