Virginia May Hansen Holmes

“Ginger” died peacefully with family by her side on Saturday, August 25, 2018 following a lengthy illness. Beloved wife of Kent Holmes, she is survived by her sister, Charlotte Cabarrus; her daughters, Catherine Holmes, Christine Bennett, and Diana Holmes; grandchildren, Jessica Holloway, Ashley See, Nick Spriggs, and Max Holmes; and great-grandchildren, Sophie, Charlie, Noah and Eli, who will all miss her very much. She was predeceased by her much-loved son John Edward in 2017.

Ginger was born on December 17,1934 in Manila, Philippines to Trinity and Charles Hansen and was raised on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. After the Japanese invasion in 1942, when Virginia was only seven, she, her mother and sister were forced into hiding for four years while her father and brothers became guerilla fighters. She later published an account of this difficult and historic time in her memoir entitled, Guerilla Daughter.

Before marrying Kent, Ginger enjoyed a trail-blazing career as a stewardess, first with Philippine Airlines and later with Pan Am. She was part of one of the first Pan Am crews to fly over the North Pole. While working as a stewardess, Ginger met her husband Kent during a stop in Hawaii and they were married a year later in June 1958.

During Kent’s career in the U.S. Navy and CIA, Ginger accompanied him on many tours overseas, including Manila, Jakarta, Vientiane, and Sydney. In 1988, during their final posting in Stuttgart, Germany, Ginger became an executive volunteer with the American Red Cross and later served as Chairman of the Red Cross in Europe. Returning to the U.S. in 1992, she participated in a number of Red Cross disaster operations in her position as Vice President of in-kind donations.

A funeral mass will be held Thursday, September 6, 2018, 10:00 AM at St. James Catholic Church, 905 Park Ave., Falls Church, VA. A celebration will follow at the American Legion on 400 N. Oak St. Falls Church, VA. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Cancer Society.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.murphyfuneralhomes.com for the Holmes family.