Virginia Marie Davenport

DECATUR - Virginia Marie (Stauber) Davenport, age 94, of Madison, WI, passed away at the HospiceCare Center in Fitchburg, WI on January 24, 2011. Virginia was born January 1, 1917 in Richmond, IN to Robert and Marie Stauber. At age 2 her family moved to Decatur, IL where her father was in the retail business, operating Stauber's "Your Home Store" for many years. She graduated from Decatur High School in 1935 and from Millikin University in 1939 with a degree in English. At Millikin she was a member of Alpha Chi Omega. After graduation, Jinny moved to West Lafayette, IN and took a job at Purdue University. She was soon introduced to Kenneth Steiner Davenport, a young graduate student in Psychology. Virginia and Kenneth were married on Aug 16, 1941. They moved to Florida and then Michigan as Kenny embarked on his academic career. In 1948 they returned to Purdue where Kenny had received a faculty appointment. Unfortunately Kenny died unexpectedly in 1951, leaving Jinny at age 34 to raise three children on her own. She held the family together and returned to work at Purdue. She worked in the Graduate School Office for 28 years; among her positions were Administrative Assistant to the Dean of the Graduate School and Secretary to the Graduate Council. One of her jobs was to review graduate theses for correctness. In her later years she could not resist the urge to pull out a pen and correct writing errors in the local newspaper. Jinny moved to Santa Cruz, CA soon after her retirement from Purdue, and spent 15 happy years living near her sister Georganne and her extended family. In 2000, Jinny moved back to the Midwest to Madison, WI, centrally located near her children. Jinny was one of a kind with a zest for life, a sharp memory and a million stories. She survived the famous LaSalle Hotel fire in 1946 and still had the room key. She lived near the epicenter of the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake but had no damage. Jinny loved to travel and thought nothing of taking her kids on long driving trips out West or to the Smokies in her trusty '56 Chevy station wagon. She toured Europe several times entirely on her own, having some grand adventures along the way. She also went on many Elderhostels, learning about everything from pottery making to architecture. She was a great writer, from a young age she wrote both poetry and prose, and later wrote many stories about her life and travels. She took graduate work at Purdue in English and was an expert on Chaucer. She loved all things British, Bach, the Beatles, French poodle dogs (especially Markie), good hats, and the German artist Albrecht Durer. Survivors include her three children: Kendra (Jerry) Tutsch of Lodi, WI; Bill (Mary) Davenport of Lincoln, NE; and Roberta Massaro of South Bend, IN. She is also survived by six grand-children: Sara (Dan) Miller, Christian (Angela) Davenport, Andrew (Molly) Davenport, Margaret Davenport, Paige Popovic, and Michael (Jess) Berman; nine great-grandchildren: Hannah and Seth Miller, Mitchell and Max Popovic, Julia and Alison Davenport, Charlie Davenport, and Mack and Alice Berman; her sister Barbara Welsh of Hoffman Estates, IL; and her brother Robert Stauber of Oceanside, CA; and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband Kenny, her parents, and her sister Georganne Sampson of Santa Cruz, CA. Virginia sacrificed a lot to give her kids a good life. She was a great mother, relative and friend. She touched many lives and will be missed by all. Mom, we hope you are happily sitting on the beach enjoying a good glass of sherry! The family would like to thank Pema, Lindsey, Pastor Steve and the entire HospiceCare team and inpatient staff at the HospiceCare Center for their caring and support these last few weeks. Thanks also for the kindness and caring shown to Jinny by the entire staff of Independent Living and Segoe Gardens over the last months. It was appreciated more than you can know. Thanks also to all Virginia's UW Health doctors and nurses for their excellent care and concern over the years. A family celebration of Virginia's life is planned for early summer in Lafayette, IN, with interment of her ashes near Kenneth at Rest Haven Memorial Park. Memorials may be made to HospiceCare of Madison, Wis. (hospicecareinc.com), Independent Living of Dane County, Wis.(indepenliving.com), or the charity of your choice. All Faiths Funeral & Cremation Services Madison, Wis. (608)442-0477 www.866allfaiths.com. Obituary written by family members. Online guest book at http://legacy.com/obituaries/herald-review/