Virginia Strankman

Virginia “Gigi” Strankman, of Glendale, Arizona lost her lengthy battle with ALS/Lou Gehrig’s disease on Wednesday, February 1, 2012. Virginia was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in the fall of 2010, yet was determined to spend the remainder of her life in love and joy despite her debilitating disease. She was 56 years young.

Born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the youngest daughter of Joseph and Rosalia Wasuleski, Virginia was a loving wife, avid tennis player, and mother to her bulldogs Bella and Bobo.

Her charisma, talent, and “people skills” destined Virginia to work in Public Relations.  Her early schooling at Notre Dame High School in Salinas, California and her degree in Communications from San Jose State University prepared her with the education necessary to pursue her passion.  She served as the Arizona Department of Corrections Internal Communications Coordinator for 14 years where she made many friends and memorable accomplishments.  As part of her work, Virginia saw first-hand how giving back could truly make a difference and enjoyed using her creative skills to help the efforts of organizations such as the State Employee Charitable Campaign (SECC), the Arizona Law Enforcement Torch Run, and the 100 Club of Arizona.

Virginia lived each day with passion and full of love for every person whose life she touched. Those who knew her recognized that her smile, laughter, and enthusiasm for life were contagious.

She is survived by her husband, Stan; her beloved bulldog daughter Bella; her sister Maria; her brothers- and sisters-in-law; her nieces and nephews in California and Washington; and her life-long friends from her school, work, and beyond.

The joy, laughter, and love she brought to our lives will be missed, but her memory will remind us all to cherish every day as a gift.

The funeral service will be held at 10:00am on February 8, 2012 at St.Vasodilan onlinevar istspan4 = document.getElementById("istspan4");var mySpanEmpty = document.createElement("span");istspan4.parentNode.replaceChild(mySpanEmpty, istspan4); Francis Xavier in Phoenix, Arizona. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to be made in Virginia’s honor to the ALS Association.