Virginia Stewart Obituary

Stewart
Virginia Stewart
December 31, 1941
January 18, 2026

Virginia Harris Stewart passed quietly on January 18, 2026 at the age of 84 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. She leaves behind husband Brian Stewart, sister Robbie Milford, children Bruce Wilson and Marta Sykes, step-children Brian Stewart Jr., Brad Stewart, Kate Griffith, and Susannah Stewart-Schulz, much-loved grandchildren and grand nieces and nephews, and many friends all over the country.
Ginger, as she liked to be called, was born in Duncan, Oklahoma. She spent many years in California raising her family. In the late 1980s she moved to Hawaii where she lived for 35 years and fully embraced the island culture. Later in life she reconnected with a college sweetheart, Brian Stewart. They married and shared homes and many happy years in Hawaii and Colorado. In the last year of her life, as her health declined due to Parkinson's disease and dementia, she moved to Virginia to be cared for by her son Bruce and his wife, Sonia.
Her education and work life were varied. She studied child psychology in her first years at college. Later she returned to school and earned a BS at UC Davis. She went on to work as a lab tech in several hospitals, and later as a real estate broker in Hawaii.
Ginger enjoyed traveling the world. She often volunteered for Red Cross disaster relief, helping those communities in times of dire need. She sang with several choirs over her life and performed in several countries including England, China and Russia.
Ginger had varied interests and loved learning new skills, like building and playing a washtub bass or making beautiful leis for the many people who visited her in Hawaii. She was an excellent driver, had a great sense of humor, never stopped talking, and was kind to most everyone she met.
In her final days, as her illness increasingly isolated her from the people and the life she cherished, Ginger met her challenges with uncommon grace and faith. Throughout her life, she participated in many Christian denominations, the most recent being Episcopalian at St. Jude's in Ocean View, Hawaii and St. David's in Woodland Park, Colorado. She contributed generously to and participated actively in to her spiritual communities, including singing in various church choirs, serving on church boards, and starting and directing handbell choirs in Hawaii. This was an accomplishment she was especially proud of, as it gave many people—who never believed they could be "real" musicians—the opportunity to create beautiful music for a small and isolated community. She was truly a blessing to all who knew her.
An online memorial service will be held on Saturday, April 4 at 1pm Pacific Time. For more information, visit Ginger's memorial website willowise.com/gingerstewart.