Virginia Louise Durkin died on Friday, July 2. In her later years, she often remarked “I’ve lived a wonderful life. I have no regrets.” She was 91.
Ginny was the only daughter of Frances Timm Hewitt and Herbert Hewitt. She was born at Lawrence Hospital in Bronxville, NY. Her father died when she was young, and Ginny was raised by her mother and her extended family including an eclectic group of aunts – all women before their time. As followers of Mary Baker Eddy, they instilled in her a strong belief of mind over body. “Don’t let the wrong thoughts enter” was a guiding principle in her life.
After graduating from A.B. Davis High School in Mt. Vernon, NY, Ginny attended the University of Miami. She was a proud sister of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and enjoyed water skiing with friends and fishing with her uncle off Florida’s gulf coast. She left college after two years to work in New York City for Look Magazine. Ginny loved New York and through the rest of her life, she enjoyed attending the theatre, symphony and museums.
Ginny met her future husband, Bill Durkin, on a blind date while he was on weekend leave from Fort Belvoir during the Korean War and were happily married for 60 years. Their first son Bill was followed by twin sons, Tim and Pat, and then two more boys, Tom and Dan. Ginny loved being the mother of boys and over the years many of her children’s friends looked at her as their second mother. The Durkin house was always a hub of activity with Ginny at the center. Her sons’ friends knew they were always welcome and that there would be plenty of food!
While raising her family in Greenwich and later living in Wilson Point, Norwalk, and then Stamford, her favorite home was an old farmhouse in Cavendish, VT that Ginny and Bill bought in 1964 (and that remains in the family). She loved tending to her perennial gardens, making apple cider in the fall and maple syrup in the spring. With Ginny running the kitchen, Sunday morning pancakes, homemade syrup and Singleton’s bacon were a staple for her children, countless guests and later, her many grandchildren.
Ginny loved being outdoors and enjoyed skiing in Vermont and throughout the west, golf at the Greenwich Country Club and the Ekwanok Country Club, and fishing, whether surfcasting in Nantucket or fly fishing in Alaska, Patagonia and New Zealand. Even knee replacements in her 60s couldn’t slow Ginny down, and during her final years at Edgehill in Stamford, she could often be found on the walking path that circled the property.
Most importantly, Ginny was steadfast in the love and support she provided to her family and friends. As her sons married she was particularly thrilled to have daughters enter her life. Not only was she a mother to them she was a true mentor. Along with her daughters, many other young women looked up to her as a model for raising their own families.
Ginny, who was predeceased by her husband Bill, her son Patrick, and her grandson John, leaves her sons Bill and his wife Martha, Tim and his wife Liz, Tom and his wife Sue, and Dan and his wife Susan. She also leaves her daughter-in-law Kristen, fourteen grandchildren, one great-grandson and many, many friends who have always been part of the Durkin family.
The family will have a private service at a later date. Donations in Ginny’s memory can be made to the Patrick J. Durkin, Class of 1979, Public Service Leadership Fund at Middlebury College engage.middlebury.edu/give).
