A lifelong resident of Kansas City she moved to Carrollton in 2012 to be closer to her daughter, Gail Michael, and her grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Walter E. Dean, and daughter, Susan Dean Smith. Virginia was one of ten siblings, Jane Brice Scott, Loretta Brice Horn, Robert (Bobby) Brice and William (Billy) Brice all of Metro Kansas City. Sisters Mary Brice McDonald, Theresa (Terry) Brice Maize, Jean Brice Hayde, brothers, Jack Brice and Paul Brice preceded her in death. She leaves her daughter Gail, son-in-law, Marty Michael, five grandchildren, Nicholas D. Michael, Plano, Texas; Henry John Dean, Kansas City; James T. VanGilder, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Andrea Gomez, Bentonville, Arkansas; Tyler Michael, Anna, Texas; four great-grandchildren and 21 surviving nieces and nephews.
Virginia was born the year of the 1929 Stock Market Crash and would speak often about how difficult it was to be one of ten children and her Dad working for the WPA, to support his ever growing family. Those who are not up on their American History, the WPA was part of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal which put men back to work and helped bring America out of the Great Depression. Growing up during the Depression, having nothing, her brothers and sisters were her rock. They were bound together by their love of family, and their love of the Catholic Church.
Virginia fell in love with a divorced father of two and her parish priest refused to allow them to marry. Absolutely heartbroken, something she struggled with for the rest of her life, she left the Catholic Church and eloped in Bentonville, Arkansas in 1950. Once married, and having a growing family of her own, to put it lightly, Gail and Susan became her reason for living. She took them to Piano lessons every Saturday and much to her daughters despise would wash and roll their hair every Sunday morning. She taught her girls to embroider, crochet, knit, and sew their own clothes. When a special occasion came up, Virginia and her daughters could be found at the neighborhood TG&Y combing through Simplicity Patterns and fabric. The family didn't have a car, so she would walk to the local A&P for groceries, take the bus to Doctor's appointments or the annual school clothes and shoes shopping trip.
Her husband, Walter, bought her an old Ford Fairlane in the early sixties. She called it the Whoopee, because everytime she got into it, she found something didn't work.... like the time it started pouring and the windshield wipers didn't work. She would just shout "Whoopee!" Once she had a car of her own, chasing sirens in the neighborhood became a past time. She met many KCMO Police Officers who became her friends. It wasn't uncommon at all to see a Patrol Car in her driveway and Police Officers sitting with her on the front porch.
When her daughter, Susan, was in need of help, Virginia welcomed her and Susan's two sons, John and Jimmy, into her home. Virginia's home and heart were always open and it gave the boys the stability they needed when they were receiving very little. Virginia also took John into her home again and became a Foster, when he was placed in Child Protection Services.
She was a 1947 graduate of Westport High School and worked for the Gas Service Company, retiring in 1991. She loved Lawrence Welk, talking on the phone, collecting plates, Dresden figurines, crystal, cut glass, three mold glass, and anything else that caught her interest at Garage Sales. Virginia was known as Mom to many. She was an expert at peeking out the window and was a lifelong fan of the Kansas City Chiefs.
