Virginia Friend died peacefully in her sleep, in the early morning of Monday, January 28th. Virginia was born on June 15th, 1919 in New Bedford, Massachusetts (the setting for the start of one of her favorite books, Herman Melville's Moby Dick). She was the oldest daughter of Mildred and Arthur Larson, sister of Flossie and Helen. As a young woman, Virginia pursued her education with energy and perseverance in an era when it was still challenging for women to do so. After graduating from Simmons College, she attended graduate school at Vassar, where she received her Master's degree in Physiology. Choosing to continue her studies, she became a PhD candidate at the Cornell Medical School in New York City, where she worked both as a research scientist and as a lecturer to medical students on the subject of biochemistry. It was at Cornell that she met her husband, John Friend. During the occupation of Italy, Virginia joined John who was an Army physician assigned to U.S. troops in Italy.

Virginia's first child, Louise, was born in December of 1947 in Brooklyn where John was completing his medical residency. Later they moved to the small town of North Anson, Maine -- a one-doctor town a" where John took over a general medical practice. The family moved twice within Maine in the ensuing years, first to Farmington where their sons Bill and Paul were born in April 1951 and April 1954 respectively, and then to Auburn, where John took up a practice in anesthesiology.

In 1965, following her divorce from John, Virginia moved herself and her children to Ithaca, NY in order to be near her mother, her sister Helen, and other family. In Ithaca, Virginia worked for the Veterinary College of Cornell University, editing scientific papers. When she retired she volunteered regularly in the Ithaca school system in the program for children with reading problems. Her astute observations and sensitivity allowed her to understand and to address effectively students' difficulties at a time when dyslexia and other learning issues had yet to be defined.

In 1989, Virginia moved to Vashon Island, WA, a ferry ride away from Seattle, where her daughter Louise and her husband Zach Miller had made a home, and where she was also within close reach of her son Bill and his partner Sabrina and their family in Seattle. On Vashon, Virginia continued to live independently in several locations. In the last seven years of her life, she lived in a beautiful and old restored house on top of a hill behind Louise and Zach's home. Throughout her time on Vashon, Virginia was a deeply beloved and much sought after member of the family and a constant (as well as wry and witty) presence at parties, dinners, and brunches, where she and Zach would complete the Sunday New York Times crossword puzzles with great virtuosity.

Despite significant and life-long physical disabilities due to having contracted polio at age 14, Virginia remained a fiercely independent woman until the end, always preferring to care of herself rather than give up her independence. One of Virginia's most remarkable characteristics was her surprising mental acuity, which like her independent streak remained until the very end. She possessed a more accurate memory for people and events than many, and could recall names and people from all periods of her life easily. She was the keeper of our family history. Her intellect, wit and interest in life and its foibles came, in part, from years of avid reading. Towards the end of her life when macular degeneration and a central vision stroke made it hard to read, she persisted with large print books and a good magnifier as long as she could do so! Many of Bill's childhood memories include trying to interrupt her while she was deeply absorbed in whatever she was reading.

Virginia's grandchildren knew her by the moniker "Nana", a name once held by her own mother. She was deeply beloved by everyone who knew her and maintained the strongest of ties to her extended family despite distance. She was a mother and mother-in-law without peer: wise without being pushy, loving without being cloying. For 35 years she was our Nana. There is a big hole where she filled our hearts. She is remembered dearly by her three children and their partners, and by her many grandchildren: Ethan, Ezra, and Kate Miller; Lars, Arna, Peter and Nadia Friend, and Julian and Cameron Friend. Her great grandchildren are Lars and his partner Kate's boys Desmond and Ian, and Ezra and his partner Cailin's daughter, Olivia. Upon Olivia's birth in December 2012, with Virginia's agreement, Louise began to share the name "Nana" .

Virginia spent the last few months of her life at Vashon Community Care, an assisted living facility on Vashon Island, where she had settled in well and had many friends among the staff and volunteers. She had her own apartment, made cozy with many of her beautiful and treasured things, including some of the oils she painted. She died peacefully in her sleep, in the early morning of Monday, January 28th. She would have been 94 in June, though she recently and emphatically added, she was "93 and a half." Virginia was fully alert and still quick with puns and her lovely laugh. The evening before, Sunday, she walked herself to dinner with others at the assisted living center and then enjoyed a visit with Zach.

And we all miss her so very much!

Memorial: Share memories of Virginia. We'll be here Saturday March 16, 2013, from 2pm -4:30pm. Join us.8743 SW Van Olinda Road Vashon, WA. 98070. (206) 567-4358.