E. Virginia Molinatto

E. Virginia Molinatto

Bryson City - Emma Virginia Polasky Molinatto, best known as Jinny, 89, of the Coopers Creek Community, Bryson City, NC, died Sunday, November 4, 2018 in hospice care at Harris Hospital in Sylva, NC.

Virginia was born in Pittsburg, PA, in 1929 where she lived until moving as a child to Warren, OH. She graduated from Champion High School in Warren. During WWII, Jinny worked in an ammunitions factory. After taking secretarial courses, she became a secretary at the Grinnell Sprinkler Company and to an attorney in Ohio. Virginia married Jonathan Joseph Molinatto in 1949 and they moved to Western North Carolina in 1955. There she was hired as a legal secretary by Congressman David Hall in Jackson County. Jinny worked for many years in that Sylva office with other attorneys including Judge Lacy Thornburg, Paul Holt and Phillip Haire. Moving from the legal field to academia, she was secretary to Alex Pow, Chancellor of Western Carolina University. Her final professional field was in insurance when she joined Jonathan in his Farm Bureau Insurance agency in Swain County, gained her certificate from Life Underwriters Training Council and finally retired from the Prudential Insurance Company. She was a long time member of the Business and Professional Women organization. She was a long time member of the Church of Jesus Christ first in Ohio and then in Charlotte, NC.

Jinny was a voracious reader until her sight became impaired. She loved cooking and was especially talented with Italian recipes. Her grandchildren recalled especially enjoying homemade gnocchi, pizzelle - traditional Italian waffle cookies, pastas with delicious sauces, homemade bread and the annual fruitcakes at Christmas. Yes, we really did love her special fruitcakes! She canned many jams, jellies, apple butter, pickles and a whole variety of vegetables from the garden, always sharing them with others. We will greatly miss enjoying the bounty of that garden.

Surviving are her husband of almost 70 years, Jonathan Joseph Molinatto of Bryson City; her daughter and son-in-law, Deborah and Mike Claxton of Calabash, NC; her son and daughter-in-law, Jonathan David and Pamela Molinatto of Bahama, NC; three grandsons, Christopher Claxton (spouse Christine Wright) of Honolulu, HI; Jonathan Ross Molinatto (spouse Cheryl Molinatto) of Chapel Hill, NC; David Molinatto (special friend Teodora Zoeva) of Chicago, IL; and Alyssa Claxton Peters of Baltimore, MD; four great-grandsons: Connor and Camden Peters, Cameron and Garrett Molinatto; and a half-brother, Ted Polasky (spouse Cathy) of New York. A grandson, Ryan Molinatto of Bahama, NC, preceded her in death.

Viewings with the family will be held at the Crisp Funeral Home, Bryson City, NC on Friday evening, November 9, from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM and Saturday morning, November 10, from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM with a service immediately following on Saturday. Brother Joe Catone of the Church of Jesus Christ will lead the service. Private interment will be at Thomas Chapel on Galbraith Creek at a later date.

Donations in her memory may be made to the American Macular Degeneration Foundation, P.O. Box 515, Northampton, Massachusetts 01061