Virginia McCrory

In celebration of Virginia McCrory — a life lived with a strong will, great wit and a twinkle of mischief. When asked how she wanted to be remembered she replied, “I had a great life, had a good sense of humor, read hundreds of biographies, loved art (especially Salvador Dali) and was a good golfer.” 

Virginia kept her wit to the end. As her nurse escorted her down the hall to a MRI, she asked where he was taking her. He said, “To look at your brain.” She quickly responded “I hope you can find it!” She also had her quirks — she approached driving like she did life: full throttle. In her 70s, she totaled her car. Her beloved son, David, rebuilt it and she was off speeding again.

Virginia was born in Portland, Indiana, to Eugene “Foxie” and Oberyl Fox. “Ginnysox” grew up during the Great Depression. As a result, she rarely threw things away. Her collection included hundreds of books, an array of tools, too many paint brushes to count and other evidence of an active, DIY life. She was a member of a tool club that delivered a free power tool each month to use and review. Even in her 80s, she resurfaced her driveway, repaired her heater and painted her home frequently.

While visiting a friend in high school she met her friend’s older brother, Max, home on leave from the U.S. Navy. He offered to give her a lift home. Apparently overexcited about the beautiful blonde in his front seat, he ran the car into the side of the family barn. They were married a year later during an Indiana snowstorm. They had to honeymoon in a nearby motel when their car got stuck in a snowdrift. Exactly nine months to the day later, their first child, Teresa, was born.  

Ginny and Skinny (Max) bought a house at the end of Maple Street in Pennville, Indiana, population 702. They worked very hard, educated their three children, created a beautiful home and traveled together in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and New Zealand. In 1972, they moved to Tucson where they worked and then semi-retired, running businesses in Arizona and California. Virginia proved to be a good manager and she built two businesses that sold for millions. She served as vice president of the chamber of commerce in Hawthorne, close to Los Angeles, California. Virginia lost her husband and golf partner in her 60s and, after a few lonely years, she ran a classified ad in the singles section of the newspaper looking for a golf partner. That’s how she found Joe, a good looking golfer with the same zest for life. They had great fun golfing, dancing, bowling and just being together until his death five years later. 

Virginia is survived by her two daughters, Teresa and Rebecca; daughter-in law Debbie; and son-in-law Ernie. She leaves four grandchildren, Courtney, Craig, Lauren and Julian; and two great-grandchildren, Teagan and Connor.   

She always remembered with love her best friend, Donna Burkett, lost to cancer at a young age. Virginia was predeceased by her husband, Max, and her favorite child, David. Fortunately, he was also his sisters’ favorite, so Virginia didn’t cause any psychological damage by playing favorites. David’s death was the biggest sorrow of Virginia’s life. According to her wishes, she was cremated and her ashes will be scattered in the Pacific Ocean close to those of her husband and son.

Virginia lived on her own terms: independent, stubborn, a lousy cook, a flirt and a fun woman who loved recounting how many men she beat at golf.

She died at 90 on her own terms: in her sleep, wearing a pretty pink nightgown and dreaming of hitting a hole in one. 

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to her favorite rescue animal sanctuary: Lions, Tigers and Bears at lionstigersandbears.org.

Please share a memory and sign the guest book at pacificbeachchapel.com.