Virginia Lee Whitman

Virginia Lee (Ginny) Whitman, 74, of Champaign, IL entered eternal rest on August 11, 2023, at the Richard L Owens Hospice Home in Peoria, IL.

Ginny was born in Salina, KS at the Smokey Hill AFB Hospital on January 29, 1949, to Virginia May and William Lee Whitman. During her early years, the family lived in various locations from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Washington D. C., Virginia, South Carolina to Louisianna while her father served in the U.S. Navy. Both parents instilled love, faith and patriotism in their children. As she grew, her mother became involved selling Stanley Home Products. From their mother, Ginny and her older brother, Bill, absorbed the fine art of selling merchandise to customers in their homes and each could properly take Stanley orders over the telephone. These experiences most certainly cultivated Ginnys social graces and entrepreneurial spirit! She was 10 years old when her father retired from the Navy and the family moved home to Bennington, KS. There, she attended the United Methodist Church, was involved in 4-H, played the trombone in band, sang in chorus, cheered in pep club, acted in class plays, and excelled in all things Home Economics (especially sewing & baking!). She later experimented with hair color and highlights, much to her mothers chagrin.

Ginny graduated from Bennington High School in 1967 and then earned a degree in Cosmetology from Crums Beauty School in Manhattan, KS. From there, making people look and feel beautiful became her lifes work. She worked for Ivas Beauty Shop in Salina before moving to Illinois in 1970. In 1973, Ginny became the owner-operator of Lincolnshire Hair Designs in Champaign, IL. She loved to make personal connections and she truly excelled at accomplishing mutual goals through connecting others. She sold the big salon and scaled back operations in 1978, creating Designs by Ginny as her one-woman business, serving customers out of her respective homes on W. Park Ave., State Street and W. Clark St. In 2023, she achieved her 50-year milestone and several customers remained loyal to her for a half century!

Those who knew Ginny will attest to her many avocations. She raised purebred chocolate Miniature Poodles and Maltese dogs. She was a long time Nikken Product user and distributor of their beneficial magnetic devices. Ginny also brought vibrant color to her yards and the greater community through landscaping. She trucked many beautiful plants to her parents and siblings yards in Kansas and Ohio over the years. In the early 1990s, she created a small business called Our Little Garden. Espousing the virtues of creating and maintaining beautiful landscapes as a balm for the soul, she hired, trained and mentored countless gardening disciples who then passed that knowledge to others. Many of their projects are still in fine form around Champaign today. Ginny delighted in treating visitors to a tour of her yard every spring when her tulips, spectacular tree peonies, specimen herbaceous peonies, lilies and roses were in bloom.

Ginnys close friends knew of her gift of bringing people & resources together, they knew about her faith in God, love of Jesus, fondness for children and strong sense of community service. She volunteered her time and treasure with innumerable organizations over the decades. Key among them were the Fourth of July Champaign County Freedom Celebration (33 years), 4-H Sew-a-thons, serving & delivering meals, delivering groceries and making lap blankets for Veterans. She contributed many hours of creative energy to the new Chabad Center for Jewish Living at the Univ. of Illinois. Fewer might know of Ginnys independent efforts, such as her keen interest in Chinese history & culture, delivering home-prepared food to friends & neighbors, sharing recipes & teaching others how to bake bread, sewing cloth facemasks for children and adults during COVID-19, baking & delivering cookies for local Police and cinnamon rolls for Fire Fighters. Also, quilting, sewing and crocheting all sorts of beautiful items for new babies, children, family members and aging friends. And best friends have shared that Ginny always seemed to be thinking of others. Indeed, this is her legacy.

In addition to her parents, Ginny was predeceased by her sister, Judith A. (Judy) Willcoxon; sister-in-law, Angela Whitman (Bill); and niece, Virginia Grace Whitman.

Survivors include her brother, William J. (Bill) Whitman of Minneapolis, KS; her sister, Sarah J. Whitman (Danna M. Boehm) of Kansas City, MO; and brother-in-law, Tracy L. Willcoxon (Amy) of Columbus, OH; as well as, her nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews.

The family wishes to acknowledge OSF Home Hospice in Champaign and OSF Hospice in Peoria for their expert and compassionate care at her end of life.

Final arrangements were provided by Sunset Funeral Home & Cremation Center, 710 Neil St., Champaign, IL 61820. Per Ginnys request, no memorial services will be held. In lieu of flowers, friends are encouraged to make memorial donations in her name to charities of their choice.