Virginia Sykes died at age 86, at home in Hopewell Junction, NY, following a long illness.

Born in 1935 (her grandfather was the obstetrician) Virginia grew up in the Rochester, NY area and graduated from Brighton High School before attending the Theological School at St. Lawrence University, where she met Richard Sykes. After she graduated, they married, and she joined him in Minneapolis, MN, where he had become the Assistant Minister of the First Unitarian Society, and she took the position of Religious Education Director.

Upon the birth of their son, Andrew, she resigned from that position to raise her family, which grew to add a daughter, Caroline. She became very active as a volunteer, particularly with the League of Women Voters, and as a poll worker for nearly all local, statewide and national elections. Known to her friends as Ginger, she and Dick maintained an active social life, with friends far and wide with whom she stayed in regular correspondence. She and Dick were avid bridge and pot-luck tennis players, and fans of Minnesota Gopher hockey. They traveled frequently, including several trips to England and Ireland. In the 1970s Virginia ran for mayor of Little Canada, largely to ensure there was a woman on the ballot. Although she lost, she remained active in local politics for many years.

She also returned to work, eventually becoming the Retention Coordinator for the University of Minnesota Department of Epidemiology on their long-running CARDIA study, with her success at tracking down the participants for their regular re-examinations earning almost mythic status. She retired in 1999 to care for her husband, who died in 2000. A lifelong Unitarian, Ginger, along with Dick, belonged to the White Bear Unitarian Fellowship for many years. Upon returning to Rochester in 2013 to be near her brother and sister-in-law, she also returned to the First Universalist Church in Rochester, which she had attended in her youth. She spent her remaining years making friends, gardening, knitting, playing bridge, traveling, and spending time with family.

She will be greatly missed by her son Andrew (Shelley) Sykes of Vermillion, SD and daughter Caroline (Gregory Lorenz) Sykes-Lorenz of Hopewell Junction, NY; granddaughters Rali Sykes, Elizabeth Sykes and Dorothy Lorenz; brother Peter (Ann) Van Horn; and sister Sarah Van Horn, as well as many loving nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents Bert and Edith Van Horn of Rochester, NY and her husband of 43 years Richard Sykes of St. Paul, MN.

A life celebration will be organized at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be directed to League of Women Voters of Roseville Area in Minnesota, or Hudson Valley Hospice in Poughkeepsie, NY.