Virginia Lee "Ginger" Kanaly

Virginia Lee “Ginger” Kanaly, passed away peacefully at the age of 89 in her home on Saturday, the 22nd of August 2020, in Houston, Texas. Born in 1930, her experiences during the Great Depression shaped her character as a wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother.

Ginger was born in Oklahoma City to Orville Matthew Johnson and Lucille Couch Johnson. Ginger was raised in Minco, Alva, and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma earning her diploma from Oklahoma City Central High. After spending her freshman year at The Gulfport College for Women in Mississippi, she followed her high school sweetheart, Deane to OU.

At The University of Oklahoma she joined the Alpha Phi sorority. While living in the house she served as the Rush Chair her junior year, President her senior year and began working in the OU geology library. In 1952, Ginger graduated from the OU College of Business Administration with a Bachelor of Business Administration, a major in Marketing and a minor in Management. Ginger and Deane were married on the 24th of August 1952. While Deane pursued his Masters at OU, Ginger worked at a local bank in the accounting department and as an assistant to the manager at the Max Westheimer Airport in Norman. She often said, “working in school helped broaden my experiences and taught me what I didn’t know and where to go to find that information.”

In 1954, with their first born son, Steve, Ginger and Deane moved to Houston to start their Texas lives together and a loving marriage of 54 years. Jeff and Drew followed in 1956 and 1960. Thriving as a busy mom of three boys, Ginger developed quite a sense of humor and mastered the saying “just wait until your father gets home.” A natural leader Ginger organized and was a founding member of the Nottingham Women’s Club and later the Houston Patron’s Committee for the Consular Corp.

In 1975, she and Deane founded the Kanaly Trust Company and she served as Vice President and a Director for 37 years. In addition, she was active in the Women’s Institute, serving as chairman of the organization’s lecture-luncheon program from 1978 to 1980. Ginger and Deane are former members of Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church and in 2000 joined St. Luke’s United Methodist Church.

She devoted a substantial amount of her time and talents to numerous charities benefitting the very young to the very old. Ginger was especially proud of her more-than-15-year involvement in the Blue Bird Circle. Many of her charitable involvements stemmed from personal experiences with her three sons: The University of Texas Health and Science Parkinson’s Center, The National MS Society and the Edna Gladney Adoption Agency. In 2000, Ginger was a co-founder of AWARE, Alzheimer’s Auxiliary for Resources and Education, and spent many years making life better for those suffering from this disease. She was also deeply involved in the Kanaly Foundation as a means to further her family’s commitment to charitable giving.

In 1987, she and Deane built a home in Snowmass, Colorado and Ginger found a summer home for the next thirty years. Ginger loved the mountains, the hummers, the wind wafting thru her house and hosting visits with her many friends.

Following her husband’s death in 2006, she and sons Steve, Jeff and Drew recognized how much the University of Oklahoma meant to her and Deane and they decided to endow an annual lecture series in the Price Business College in their name. In a recent article in the Price School of Business magazine, Ginger added these special thoughts to women at the university that would apply today “Godspeed. Enjoy what you do; make sure it is what you want to do the rest of your life.” And if they wish it, she added, “an opportunity to enjoy both a successful career and family, never to stop learning and doing whatever it takes to keep your mind sharp.”

Ginger exuded grace and love in everything she pursued. Ginger and Deane were multiple winners for “Yard of The Month”. These feats were achieved thru a phone call from Deane saying, “Start the mower, I’ll be right home”. The yard would be done by the time Deane arrived! Ginger enjoyed church, bible study and especially her abundant friendships. She was a strong woman, committed to keeping her family close. She was especially good at planning adventurous family trips, in which the memories are forever embedded in our hearts. She loved playing the wonderful game of Mahjong and the lifelong friends she shared through the game. She will be remembered for her strength, style, elegance and for her unconditional love that she bestowed on all that were blessed to encounter her each day.

Ginger is preceded in death by her parents, husband, E. Deane Kanaly, and her eldest son, Steve. She is survived by her children, Jeffrey Kanaly and his wife, Debbie, Andrew Kanaly and his wife, Elizabeth, and Steve’s wife, Vicki. “Mimi”, as she is affectionately called by the children, is survived by six grandchildren and four great grandchildren; Kamden Kanaly and his wife, Kim, and their children, Karoline and Konnor, Kourtney Little and her husband, Taylor and their children, Sybil and Stevie, Chase Kanaly, Morgan Kanaly, Will Kanaly and Virginia Kanaly. Ginger is also survived by her brother, Dr. John Johnson and three nieces. She is also survived by Mona, her beloved cat.

The family will gather for a private inurnment at a later date at the St. Luke’s United Methodist Church Memorial Garden in Houston.

In lieu of customary remembrances, the family requests with gratitude, that memorial contributions in Ginger’s memory be directed toward the OU Foundation in support of the Deane and Ginger Kanaly Lecture Series (note in the memo line, gift), OU Foundation, 100 Timberdell Rd., Norman, OK 73019; The Blue Bird Circle, 615 W Alabama St. Houston, Texas 77006.