Virginia Schwartz

1942 - 2025

Virginia (Ginger) Haggerty Schwartz died peacefully at home on July 16, 2025, surrounded by family, friends and music. All who knew her will remember how she lived her life with joy and positivity, and the extraordinary strength with which she faced her battle with cancer.

Ginger was born to Harry and Virginia Haggerty on July 24, 1942, in Brooklyn, NY. She attended the Berkeley Carroll School and graduated from Connecticut College in 1964 with a BA in Literature. She married her beloved husband Arthur Warton Schwartz, Architect, on August 28, 1965, and their adventures together took them to live in Clark's Summit, PA, Pennington, NJ, Fox Point, WI, and Stockbridge, MA. Ginger, along with her family, spent many wonderful years on vacations in Boca Grande, FL, where she and her husband designed and built a home for their retirement. In Stockbridge, they became stewards of the historic Sedgwick House where Ginger welcomed Sedgwick family members for over three decades as a gracious host of family visits and reunion gatherings. They also enjoyed many excursions to prominent golfing venues in the USA, UK, and Spain.

A career fundraiser and event planner, Ginger worked in Development at the Norman Rockwell Museum and was the Director of Development at the Lenox Library for many years. She was also an avid volunteer for area organizations including the Mount, Chesterwood and the Literacy Network of South Berkshire (LitNet), and was thrilled to chair her 50 th Connecticut College reunion in 2014. Together with her husband, she co-founded and chaired the Lenox Library Benefit Golf Tournament that now raises funds for both the Lenox and Stockbridge

Libraries.

Her passion was the Lenox Garden Club, and she was a great champion of the Club's mission to "nurture our natural environment with inspiration and imagination." Ginger was a member for 32 years, serving as President from 2014 to 2016. She participated in many committees and was pleased to serve at the national level as a representative to the Awards and Scholarships committees of the Garden Club of America.

In addition to her husband Arthur, Ginger is survived by a son, Arthur W. Jr., (Tony), her daughter Julia C., and grandchildren Lucy, Penelope and Arthur W. III, as well as countless friends and cousins.

Ginger's garden was in full bloom the day she died, delighting visitors of all species. In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to the Lenox Garden Club Scholarship Program supporting local high school graduates. Donations can be sent to: Lenox Garden Club, PO BOX 552, Lenox, MA 01240. A service will be held at 11am on Thursday, August 28 at St. Paul's Church in Stockbridge, MA. A reception in the church courtyard and internment at the Sedgwick Cemetery in Stockbridge will immediately follow.