Virginia Mae Christie

Virginia Mae Christie, age 87, known to friends and family as Ginnie, relocated to a better place under the sun on Oct. 10, 2021, where she can spend eternity taking in the sights, sounds, and scents of the great outdoors.

She was born June 7, 1934, in Duluth, Minn., the only child of Valborg Mae Miller.

True to her love of the outdoors, Ginnie’s two favorite pastimes in her earlier years were golf and skiing. During her youth, she became an avid downhill and cross-country skier, and one memorable time she tried ski-jumping. It wasn’t a pretty landing, but after sitting at the top of the jump the whole day, trying to muster the confidence to ski down the jump, she overcame a level of fear that served her well the rest of her years.

During the short summer months, Ginnie had the opportunity to caddy for Hall of Fame golfer, Patty Berg, and thus began her interest in golf. Ginnie graduated from Augustana Academy in Sioux Falls, S.D., in 1952. Her best friend from Augustana, Marya Olson, from Farmington, Minn., introduced Ginnie to another Farmington native, Lawrence DeWayne Christie. In 1954, Larry and Ginnie married in California and settled in Tucson, Ariz., where Larry was stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.

In 1956, Ginnie began the career she long coveted of being a full-time mother, when son Scott Lawrence was born on Sept. 11, 1956. In 1957, Larry and Ginnie moved to Northfield, Minn., where Larry attended St. Olaf College. In the following years, Eric Luther was born on Oct. 17, 1958; Jon Clifton was born on Jan. 7, 1961; and Lisa Marie was born on Dec. 15, 1963.

Though we later most associated Ginnie with her distinctive creative flair, she was the athletic instigator in the family and had the kids on skis by the time they were three and golf clubs in their hands by age five. The family joke was, “…if you didn’t golf or ski, find another family to live with.” The family spent a great deal of the kids’ developmental years hanging out at Welch Village Ski Hill and Northfield Golf Club, and trekking up to Lutsen, Minn. for more golf and skiing.

Ginnie’s creative side was showcased in stints as an interior designer and pottery maker. Even in the days before her passing, Ginnie spent her hours doing adult coloring - her finished pieces adorned every wall in her room at Brookdale Assisted Living.

Ginnie and Larry divorced in October of 1982, and Ginnie took that opportunity to move to Arizona to pursue a new passion in massage therapy. She became a licensed clinical massage therapist, nutritionist and reflexologist, and spent the next 30 years turning the passion into a successful career – and her children and grandchildren were only too eager to be her test subjects when she needed to try out new massage techniques.

Without question, Ginnie’s greatest joy came from her children and grandchildren. She was their biggest fan, she never missed a game or meet of any of her children, and she did her best to travel to where her grandchildren lived to experience her grandchildren’s talents in all of their endeavors.

In 2000, Ginnie decided she was done with snowy winters and moved permanently to the Arizona desert, specifically to Fountain Hills. Even in her earlier years Ginnie felt she was meant to live in the desert, so it seems only fitting this is where she took her final breath, after suffering a major stroke on Oct. 4.

Ginnie is survived by her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren; Scott (spouse, Anna) of Fountain Hills; and their children, Alexandra (spouse, Bo) Blair of Billings, Mont.; their children, Rylie and Webb, and Nicholas of Fountain Hills; Eric (spouse, Cheryl) of Peoria, Ariz. and their children, Stephanie (spouse, Kyle) of Minneapolis, Minn., and Ryan (spouse, Tara) of Peoria, Ariz.; their son, Jack; Jon (spouse, Lynn) of Minneapolis, Minn. and their children, Alana (fiancé,’ Mario) of Minneapolis, and Jillian of Minneapolis; Lisa (spouse, Francis) Malecha of Geyserville, Calif. and their children, Allison (significant other, Andy) of Brooklyn, N.Y. and Michael (significant other, Meghan) of Regina, Saskatchewan.

At Ginnie’s request, immediate family will gather at the home of Lisa and Fran, in Geyserville, Calif., to celebrate her life and spread her ashes, on a date TBD in 2022.

To honor Ginnie’s love of the great outdoors, please make a donation to your favorite outdoor organization.