Virginia "Ginny" Hennessy

Virginia “Ginny” Hennessy, age 84, of Ortonville, MN, formerly of Graceville, MN, passed away on Thursday, June 27, 2024, at Fairway View Neighborhoods in Ortonville.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Wednesday, July 3, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. at Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Graceville, MN. Visitation will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at the church on Wednesday. Father Shawn Polman will celebrate the Mass, and burial will take place in Graceville Consolidated Cemetery.

The service will be livestreamed and recorded and will be viewable at the bottom of this page.

Virginia Lois (Hills) Hennessy was born on November 29, 1939, in Beardsley, MN, the tenth child to Ora and Hazel (Doschadis) Hills.

Ginny was united in marriage with James “Jim” Hennessy on August 30, 1958, at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Beardsley. Jim and Ginny moved to Santa Ana, CA, in 1959, and returned to Graceville in 1974.

First and foremost, Ginny was a loving Mother to her four children: Rick, Jim, Nancy, and Shelly. She worked different jobs in Graceville, including Griffith Hardware, assistant manager at Rixe's Red Owl, and was also a certified nursing assistant at Holy Trinity Hospital and Grace Home. In 1986, Ginny and Jim moved to the Chisago City, MN, area where she continued her loving care to many people as a CNA.

In 2003, Ginny and Jim moved back to Graceville and eased into retirement. They loved to travel, whether by car or plane and visited friends and family along the way. They also enjoyed camping trips and traveling to casinos! A few of Ginny’s favorite pastimes were being a homemaker, completing crossword puzzles, and doing word search games. In her later years, she got an IPad and played games and enjoyed keeping up on Facebook with her friends and family. Ginny took SO much pride in her family and loved every one of them unconditionally.

Left to cherish Ginny’s memory are her children and their spouses: Rick and Jill Hennessy, Jim and Evelyn Hennessy, Nancy and Mike Athey, and Bill and Shelly Gacke; 16 grandchildren, 32 great-grandchildren (and one on the way); and one great-great-grandson; siblings: Arlene (Beanie) Deutsch, Linda Sibson, Pat (Johnny) Stoick, Carol (Dean) Palmer, Larry Hills, and Bonnie (Jerry) Hendricks; sister-in-law, Cheryn Reeves; and brother-in-law, Dale Sykora.

Preceding her in death are her husband, James “Jim” Hennessy; her parents, Ora and Hazel Hills; parents -in-law, James “Paul” and Elizabeth Hennessy; and siblings: Donald “Sharkey” and Sally Hills, Dorothy “Dot” and Robert O’Leary, Robert "Duck" Hills, Audrey “Hun” and Elwood Opitz, Mary and Willie Ewert, Joyce “Joy” and Ronnie Bogenreif, John Hills, Kathleen “Katty” Sykora, and Ken “Bitsy” Hills; sister-in-law, Eleanor “Tooty” and Milo Zahnow; and brothers-in-law, Loryn Sibson, Willie Deutsch, Jim Reeves; and Bob and Helen Needham.

Blessed be the beautiful Memory of our Mother and Grandmother.