Virginia Leone Ryan

Virginia Leone Ryan (nee Herbst) passed away peacefully at Heritage Court of Waukesha on Friday, May 29, 2020 at the age of 98. Loving sister of Nancy Borchardt; Dear Aunt of Pamela Jackson, Scott Borchardt and Sharon (Ron) Paul; Sister-in-law of Marion Ryan; Great-Aunt of Dustin (Lisa) Jackson, Cody Jackson; Great-Great Aunt of Casey Jackson; Dear friend of Kris Malicki and David Hall. She is further survived by other relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband Bob, son Michael and brother-in-law Waymann Borchardt.

Virginia (Gig, as we all called her) was born in Waukesha and lived in the area all of her life. She graduated from Waukesha High School in 1939. Her first job was at the Lee Larson Company in Waukesha. In 1943 she married Robert “Bob” Ryan in North Carolina where he was stationed in the Army. Only her cousin, Mavene, took the train to be at their wedding. They were married for 73 years and had one son, Michael, who passed away in 1977 at the age of 28.

Gig was a longtime member of the Apostles of Christ Lutheran Church in Wauwatosa. Gig and Bob spent many winters in St. Petersburg, FL and Gig loved the sun and warm temperatures. She was a member of CBI (China-Burma-India) a military designation in which Bob was a part of. She traveled many times with this group and made many new friends. Traveling was one of Gig’s many pleasures and she and her sister Nancy traveled many places, including Canada, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Hawaii, and Virginia just to name a few. Another one of Gig’s pleasures was shopping, visiting Mayfair and Brookfield Square Malls weekly. She loved spending time with her family and when Bob no longer wanted to drive, her great-nephew Cody would pick them up and take them to family celebrations. She was not going to miss out on family time. Gig loved dogs and had two dogs, Morgan, and Gracie.

The family would like to thank the staff, caregivers, and hospice workers at Heritage Court of Waukesha for treating her with respect and dignity. Also, for helping family members stay in touch with her by reading her emails and showing her pictures of her brand new great-great-niece Casey. In these unprecedented times, THANK YOU for being there when we could not.

Visitation will be held Wednesday, June 3, 2020 from 12:00 noon until the 1:00 p.m. funeral service at the Randle-Dable-Brisk Funeral Home, 1110 S. Grand Ave., Waukesha. Burial will follow at Prairie Home Cemetery. Due to the current pandemic, social distancing will be followed, and face masks or face coverings are strongly encouraged for the safety of all.