Virginia (Ginny) Lopiccolo was born on October 21, 1914 when horse-drawn wagons were still common in the streets and electricity was still a new-fangled wonder. She was the first of six children born to Sicilian immigrants living and working in the long-since-vanished fruit orchards of San Jose, California. She grew up with the strong work ethics so common amongst the people of the land. Her family may have been poor, but they never lacked for the basic necessities. She learned to “cut cots” (prepare fresh picked apricots for drying and canning) and was contributing to the families’ income at a young age. She always regretted being unable to complete her final years of high school because her income was necessary to support the family. Eventually she left the orchards for a job at a laundry in San Francisco, sitting in the storefront window mending clothing for customers. It was during this time she met Bob von Hein once he finally plucked up the courage to flirt with her as she worked. Their romance blossomed and they were married on February 6, 1937. Bob was very different from the boys she had known before, a handsome blue-eyed blond, whose tumultuous childhood had shaped him into an independent thinker. During their early years together, Ginny’s universe expanded greatly as she and Bob lived and worked in San Francisco and Seattle. For several years Bob shipped out as a seaman on four-masted schooners cod-fishing in the Bering Sea, and later joined the Merchant Marines and crewed on various voyages throughout the Pacific to the Orient and South America. The voyages sometimes lasted as long as five months and Ginny stayed home alone, but their relationship was strong and continued to grow. Their eldest daughter Jacqueline was born in 1942. Their second daughter Dione was born in 1944. Eventually they left San Francisco and settled in the new suburb of Redwood City in a little house on Redwood Avenue, where steelhead salmon still migrated up Redwood Creek to spawn and there were cows grazing in the neighboring fields.
Just after WWII ended, Bob and Ginny packed up their old Packard and headed off to the wilds of Mexico on a once-in-a-lifetime experience. They traveled all over with their two oldest daughters, in a time when Americans rarely visited Mexico. Ginny and Bob were inveterate campers, and every summer spent two weeks at Lake Tenaya in Yosemite, where they often did not encounter people other than those they camped with, during the entire stay. My, how things have changed since then!
Redwood City was growing fast, houses popping up everywhere as more people became suburbanites. In 1951 the family was completed by the birth of their youngest daughter, Laurie. For ten more years they stayed in Redwood City until the suburban expansion became too much for Bob and they began looking for a different sort of life in a rural area. In 1962 they packed up and with the two younger girls relocated to Dunsmuir, California. Their new residence was built in 1910 by Dr. Cornish as home for his family adjacent the 20-bed Dunsmuir Hospital he built concurrently (the hospital was demolished in the mid-1950’s). The property was originally developed to provide fresh fruits, vegetables, and flowers for the hospital’s patients. The property was lovely, although sadly overgrown by this time. There were terraced acres of all sorts of fruit orchards, myriad flowers and shrub gardens, a mountain creek irrigation system, dry-built stone walls, and forested parcels. Basically, it was heaven to Ginny and Bob. The Von Heins set to work to reclaim the neglected orchards and gardens and return them to productivity. Ginny became a master baker of apple and cherry pies, a preserver of all things fruity, a maker of the best apple juice you’ve ever tasted. Bob and Ginny toiled continually in the orchards and gardens, happily sharing their bounty with all takers. Their house became a favorite summer stopping place for many families who enjoyed their hospitality and the beautiful nature wonderland of the area. Their youngest daughter left the nest in 1969 and for a few years the von Heins provided foster care to troubled youngsters. Their “adopted daughter” Ingrid ‘Missy’ Betts lived with them for a number of years. Ginny joined a quilting group and learned the craft. They supported the Dunsmuir Botanical Gardens, donating various plants and trees for Dunsmuir’s public spaces. Ginny was a founding member of the original Dunsmuir Farmer’s Market, and took great joy in displaying and selling fresh fruit, vegetables, and plants. They were an important part of establishing the local Audubon Society chapter. A multitude of relations and friends spent many happy summer days at the big house in Dunsmuir. The kids loved it, although they had to “clean their plates”; they were also exposed to a choice of at least six different jams on their waffles in the morning, and never-ending glasses of delicious home-made apple juice. Ginny could whip up a wonderful meal for a dozen people with little or no warning. There was always a slice of pie and a bag of fruit for visitors to take “for the ride home”. There was always a big bowl of spaghetti or pan of enchiladas awaiting visitors when they returned from an exciting day of tubing on the Sacramento River. And of course, vegetables, vegetables and more vegetables!
As they aged, it became harder to maintain the large property, but it wasn’t until they were both in their late 80’s that the slowdown became obvious. Bob became seriously ill and died at age 94. Ginny was no longer capable of living on the property alone, so she was moved to Austin, Texas to live with her eldest daughter Jacquie and her husband George Hampton. This change was profound, but Ginny began a new social phase in her life as she was immersed in Austin’s music, night life and food scene as part of the Hampton clan. She was an enthusiastic social butterfly, often staying out until 2 AM at the various music venues and becoming recognized as “Granny” by the friends of her granddaughters Noelle and Heather. For a couple of years Ginny would spend part of the year in Austin and part in Dunsmuir. Her health was superb until she underwent serious bowel surgery at age 96. Two years later a recurrence of the intestinal issues led to colostomy surgery, but she recovered amazingly well. In 2012 Ginny returned to live in her Dunsmuir house with full care provided by her daughter Dione. In October of 2014, she celebrated her 100th birthday with a house party, joined by over one hundred friends and relatives; one of her most prized possessions was the congratulatory letter she received from President Obama. In May of 2015 she contracted pneumonia and for a while was close to death, but once again the tough old lady pulled through.
Over the past two years her both her mental and physical health declined noticeably. Her mobility was seriously challenged by neuropathy in her extremities, and it was becoming difficult for her to use her walker without additional support from another person. All the normal results of extreme old age were catching up with her. She still loved to look out the kitchen window and watch the squirrels, jays and chickens snatch up the peanuts and seed set out for them. She still loved when company dropped by and she would announce proudly that “I am a hundred years old, you know!!!” But she slept more and more during the day and nighttime was not a good time for her, as she was plagued by agitation and confusion during the dark hours. At the time of her death, she was visiting her daughter Laurie for a planned 2-month stay. She went to bed on the evening of August 16th and died in her sleep early on the morning of August 17th.
We would like to thank some special folks: Neighbors Mike Gilmore and Wendy Crist and Gary and Janet Crittenden, long time friends Ruben and Darlene Dominguez who did so much for both Bob and Ginny in their waning years; Ron and Janet Anderson who considered Bob and Ginny their “adoptive” parents and who were so helpful during Ginny’s transition after Bob’s death; all the Dunsmuir friends; Tammy Cutting and Estee Harris whose solicitous caretaking made it a lot easier for both Ginny and Dione; and others too numerous to mention.
No services are currently planned. If you wish, please donate to your favorite environmental charity. And bake a pie!