Baker City, Oregon
Virginia Lee Piper, 80, a long-time Baker City resident, died Nov. 18, 2001, at her home.
Her memorial service will be at 2 p.m. Friday at the First Presbyterian Church, 1995 Fourth St. The Rev. Susan Barnes will officiate.
Virginia Piper was born at Bellingham, Wash., on Sept. 14, 1921, to Harold and Irene Rode Villager. She was born in her grandmother’s house, as was her mother. She was an only child.
She was raised and educated in Los Angeles, graduating from high school in 1939. In 1940, she attended Sawyer School of Business, after which she worked for Western Airlines in seating reservation during World War II.
During the war, Virginia met Frank Piper through his sister. He was en route to naval training. On his return from Pacific duty, they were married on June 6, 1945, at Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles. They were happily married for 56 years.
The Pipers were living in St. Anthony, Idaho, when their daughters, Penny Lee and Patricia Ann, were born. Subsequently they were transferred to Kealekakua, Kona, Hawaii, by the Soil Conservation Service.
They moved to Baker City in 1958. Virginia worked as a secretary for Baker School District for 15 years.
In Hawaii and Baker, Virginia served as a 4-H leader. She was a deacon and Junior Choir mother for First Presbyterian Church of Baker City. She also performed volunteer secretarial work for the Presbyterian Church.
Virginia was a member for almost 50 years of Order of Eastern Star in Idaho and was active with her daughters in Rainbow Girls in Baker City. After her retirement, she served Meals on Wheels for about 13 years.
In recent years, Virginia enjoyed quilting, bridge and was an avid book reader. She also enjoyed traveling to Denmark, Great Britain, and touring several regions of the United States. In the course of her travels, she researched her family roots and became acquainted with her German ancestors and distant cousins in Fredericksburg, Texas.
Virginia is loved and will be missed by her family.
Survivors include her husband, Frank; children, Penny and her husband, Roger Hunt, and their three children, Paul, Heidi and Aaron, of South Pasadena, Calif., and Patti, her husband, Joe Luckeroth, and their two children, Mark and Greg, of Beaverton.
Memorial contributions may be made to the charitable works of the Shriners Hospital for Children or a charity of one’s choice through Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St., Baker City, OR 97814.
Used with permission from: The Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, November 23, 2001
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor