March 9, 1925 – December 4, 2021
ORLEANS, MA — Virginia “Gini” Lorraine passed away on Saturday, December 4, 2021 at Cape Cod Hospital with her daughter and granddaughter at her side.
A self-defined “wash-ashore” to Cape Cod, she was born in Exeter, NH, where her parents lived briefly before returning to Orleans when she was 6 months old. She was the widow of William R. Lorraine (“Bill”) with whom she shared 65 years of marriage. When asked how long she had lived on the Cape, she would respond, “All my life, but I’m not saying how long.”
She graduated from Orleans High School, and attended Framingham State College and Chamberlain School of Retailing in Boston. After working as a supervisor at Bloomingdale’s in New York City, she returned to Orleans where she lived for the rest of her life, raising her family while active in a variety of community organizations. She was a long-time member and former Deaconess of the Federated Church in Orleans, a member of the Cape Cod Hospital Auxiliary, and contributor to both organizations’ fundraising efforts with handmade items for which she was well known. She also made regular contributions of hand knitted items to Mass Appeal in Wellfleet. For many years she ran her own sewing business in her home, and was an occasional high school instructor in Home Economics. And in addition to needlework, she was an outstanding cookie baker, mailing them at holidays around the country and passing them out locally, making sure each recipient received their very favorite.
She and Bill often took their girls in their beach buggy to the outer beach south of Nauset on summer Sunday afternoons, where the kids could swim and explore the dunes, Bill could surf cast for stripers while Gini would socialize with other beach families and oversee a cookout on the beach. She was especially proud of winning the AAA Essay Contest about a “memorable car”, in which she detailed the notable paint job (bright red with large yellow flowers, much to Bill’s dismay) she and a neighbor perpetrated on one of the old vehicles the family used for the beach.
Together Gini and Bill also realized a lifetime goal of seeing all three of their daughters graduate from college, an opportunity they had missed. In later years they traveled around New England and to Great Britain, Canada and Bermuda, but most often for a couple months each year to Florida where they made many friends from around the country and with whom they kept in touch over the years.
Gini is survived by her daughter Wendy Bradshaw and husband George, daughter Lisa Radtke and husband Arthur, and grandchildren Clinton Bradshaw, Joanna Schatz and husband Luke, Tristan Bradshaw, Derek Radtke and Corina Radtke. She is also survived by her brother Dana Clark, and her greatgrandchildren William and Emma Schatz, as well as several nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her daughter Melody Lorraine.
Special thanks to her neighbors Debbie and Bill for their assistance and caring over the past years which helped her to live independently in her own home. The family would also like to express their gratitude to the staff at the Cape Cod Hospital CVICU for their extraordinary, compassionate care during Gini’s last day.
ARRANGEMENTS: A private service for the family is planned in January. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to the Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Cape Cod Hospital Auxiliary, Mass Appeal, or a charity of choice. For online condolences, please visit www.nickersonfunerals.com.
COMPARTA UN OBITUARIO
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