Virginia M. Pingelton

IN MEMORY OF
VIRGINIA M. PINGELTON

BORN
December 13, 1925
Hospers, Iowa
PASSED AWAY
March 29, 2009
Columbia, Missouri

FUNERAL SERVICE
10:30 A.M. Saturday, April 4, 2009
St. Paul Lutheran Church, Sheldon, Iowa
Rev. Ronald Nelson ~ officiating
VISITATION
will be Friday, April 3rd after 4:00pm
with the family present from 6:30 – 8:00pm
at the Vander Ploeg Funeral Home in Sheldon, Iowa.

CONGREGATIONAL HYMN
"Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee”
“Holy, Holy, Holy”

"Amazing Grace"
Organist: Dorothy Breuer

CASKET BEARERS
Dan Pingelton Tim Pingelton
Dick Kersten Duane Schafer
James McDonald Bud Kruse

FINAL RESTING PLACE
St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery
Sheldon, Iowa

After the graveside service, relatives and friends are
invited to join the family in the fellowship hall of the church.

Arrangements under the care of
Vander Ploeg Funeral Home, Sheldon, Iowa

Suggested donations in Virginia’s memory may be made to:
St. Paul Lutheran Church.
VIRGINIA M. PINGELTON

Virginia Margaret Pingelton, 83, originally of Hospers, Iowa, died on Sunday, March 29, 2009, at the Columbia Manor Residence Home in Columbia, Missouri, reaching the age of 83 years, 3 months and 16 days. Her four children were by her side as she passed away peacefully.
Virginia was born December 13, 1925 in her parents’ farmhouse in Hospers, Iowa. The daughter of William F. and Evalena (Rehberg) Kersten were farmers. Virginia recalled walking to the one-room schoolhouse in knee-deep snow, wearing fur-lined snow boots as a high school cheerleader from a graduating class of 16 students. After graduation, Virginia entered nursing school. She met her future husband, William B. Pingelton, at the U.S.O. club. Virginia and William moved to Columbia, Missouri in 1957. William was a physician, specializing in OB-GYN, and Virginia raised four children. She volunteered as a Gray Lady at the University of Missouri Hospital and Clinics, and at the First Presbyterian Church. When William divorced her in 1980, Virginia worked at several United Way Agencies, and continued dedicating her life to her family.
Virginia was a loving wife and mother; and a dedicated friend to many. She found goodness in most things, especially her children. Dan’s fixation on space travel saw Mom helping him retrieve refrigerator boxes from Cleek’s Appliance to build interplanetary spacecraft that occupied the entire basement of the family home. Nancy’s wanderlust inspired Mom to visit her throughout the country. This included a hike to the summit of Diamond Head, in Hawaii, at age 71. Mom saw her own dreams realized as Karen put herself through nursing school. Tim’s time at soccer and his stint with the Hickman High School jazz band saw Mom faithfully present at every event. Virginia’s kindness, grace, and humor persisted throughout her Alzheimer’s and slow journey away from those she loved. In the last hours of her life, however, Virginia knew that those who loved her most were by her side, as she had been for them, and many others.
Virginia was born on a Sunday, and left this Earth on a Sunday morning, just as the early sun parted a brief Spring snowfall. Mom was our everyday heroine, offering everything and demanding nothing.
Virginia is survived by her children: Dan Pingelton, an attorney in Columbia, Missouri; Nancy Pingelton, a registered nurse at the University of Washington in Seattle; Karen Pingelton, a manager for Health Direct, Inc. in Seattle; and Tim Pingelton, production manager of Westphalia Vineyards, and his wife, Sophie, in Columbia. Virginia was a loving grandmother to three grandchildren: Hannah Kersten Pingelton (daughter of Dan and Susan Pingelton); and Edward Louis Pingelton and Margaret Mary Pingelton (son and daughter of Tim and Sophie).
She was preceded in death by two brothers, William and George Kersten; and a sister, Sylvia Rol.