Virginia Hastings Gamble

October 18, 1928 – January 26, 2020

Virginia Hastings Gamble, a woman devoted to family and her community, passed away Sunday, January 26, 2020 at the age of 91.

Ginny was born and raised in Bethel, Maine on the family dairy farm. She graduated from Gould Academy and then went on to Bates College. It was at Bates that she met her classmate, George Gamble; and, they were married soon after graduating in 1950. Ginny worked as a social worker until starting her family. George worked for General Electric, and that took them from Schenectady, NY, to Paoli, PA, and finally to Pittsfield, MA. They also lived in Wilton, CT, Sudbury, MA and Hanover, NH, before returning to Bethel in 1997.

A devoted mother and grandmother, Ginny was known for her positive “matter-of-fact” attitude and her sense of style in both clothing and home décor. She was an enthusiastic entertainer, opening her home for family gatherings and events as well as to a steady stream of friends.

Ginny was an entrepreneur at heart. In the 1970’s she started Ginny’s Bloomers, a house party business focused on plant sales. In the 1980s and 90s, she was a consultant for Color Me Beautiful, ultimately becoming a national trainer for the company. She took joy in sharing her expertise with others, helping them determine their right colors and their correct clothing styles. She and George traveled all over the world on cruise ships where Ginny presented, in her signature “Maine accent”, workshops on choosing your best colors and clothing styles.

A passionate gardener, Ginny achieved the title of Master Gardener, devoting considerable amounts of time to her extensive perennial gardens, starting all the plants from seed during the winter in her greenhouse. She was also an enthusiastic downhill skier, buying a season pass to Sunday River each year until she was in her 80’s. Crafts and jewelry design were passions of hers. She was an avid Tom Brady fan!

Ginny was a member of PEO International, a devoted Bates alumna, and an original member of the “Dairy Heirs” a group of family and friends that walked annually in the Revlon Walk for Cancer in NYC, in honor of her sister Ann Morton.

Surviving relatives include her brother Sonny Hastings and his wife Bettyann (Bethel, Maine), her sister Mary Alice Bancroft and her husband Al (South Paris, ME), and her brother-in-law Dave Morton (Bryant Pond, ME), her children Laurie Flanagan and her husband Mark (Hudson, MA), Alan Gamble and his wife Carol (Newburyport, MA), and Becky Dalke and her husband Dave (Shrewsbury, MA), grandchildren Kathryn Espinal and her husband Rich (Evanston, IL), Connor Flanagan (Bozeman, MT), Matthew Flanagan (Hudson, MA), Heather Holt and her husband Cody (Franklin, MA), Hannah Dalke (Boston, MA) and her four great-grandchildren: Leonel, Callan and Marcielo Espinal (Evanston, IL), and Jackson Holt (Franklin, MA).

A celebration of Ginny’s life will be held in May at the West Parish Congregational Church in Bethel where she was baptized and married, and where she was an active member of the congregation for the last 20 years of her life. Memorial donations in Virginia’s name can be made to Gould Academy, Gould Fund, 39 Church Street, Bethel, ME 04217 or to Bates College, Bates Fund, 2 Andrews Road, Lewiston, ME 04240.