We lost a beloved mother and grandma, Virginia M. Perkins, 84, on Monday
August 12, 2024 at her Kenosha home surrounded by her loving family.
Virginia’s journey started in Lincoln, NE on October 26, 1939, the middle
child of the late Reuben and Alvina (Reider) Lebsack.
Growing up, Virginia sang professionally at a young age, took ballet and
played piano. She was also very athletic in multiple sports and showed
horses. During High School, the family moved to Fort Wayne, IN. After
graduation, Virginia moved to Madison to work as a bookkeeper for Gaarder
& Miller. This is where she had a blind date with her future husband and
love of her life, Wayne James Perkins. They were married on June 17, 1961.
A year later, the first of three children arrived.
Virginia became the CEO of the home and was passionate about creating an
ideal family life. She was a gourmet cook, sewed clothing for the children,
did maintenance and painting, served as home bookkeeper, maintained a very
clean home which could pass the white glove test and more! She was also
known for her fashionable style and immaculately coiffured appearance.
Wayne and Virginia traveled the country with their family by car going to
every mainland state, seven provinces of Canada and Mexico. These trips
were entertaining as they sang beautifully together and the radio played songs
of the Rat Pack among others, Kenny Rogers, Ann Murray and Karen
Carpenter. They also took their young children to fancy restaurants and
sometimes the family made a scene with laughter, always having fun! Then
as the children grew, they explored many lakes by boat including the Chain
of Lakes, Lake of the Ozark and most of the Great Lakes. Eventually they
enjoyed summers in their cherished Door County, finding the calm bay as
Virginia was an avid slalom skier, but also enjoyed fishing! Soon empty
nesters, their travels were conducted by Motor coach and planes abroad
exploring most of Europe and Russia. They also got to see Alaska and
Hawaii. Upon her husband’s retirement, they became snowbirds, spending
their winters in Tucson, AZ. She was an incredible mother and cherished
time spent with her family during the summers in Kenosha and their visits in
Tucson during the winters.
After Wayne’s death in 2009, Virginia continued the snowbird life and
traveled with her children whenever possible. She went to see her
granddaughters graduate from the School for Kingdom Evangelizers in
Florida, Minocqua on the Chain of Lakes (WI), Door County (WI), Branson
(MO), Colorado Springs (CO), the island of Malta on the Mediterranean Sea,
Europe (including London, Paris, Rome) and Nepal. She loved to travel.
Her biological family wasn’t her only family. She also loved her spiritual
family. Virginia was a zealous Bible teacher as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses
for 50 years. She served in the full-time volunteer ministry for more than 20
of those years and continued to pursue teaching others until the very last day
of her life. This work brought her the most joy ever.
She is survived by her daughter, Cheryl (Edward) Wendt of Ridgewood, NJ
and their children, Taylor Wendt of Portugal, and Sydney (Aviral) Jha of
India; her son, Richard (Michelle) Perkins of Paddock Lake, WI and their
children Brooke Rehberg and Zachary Perkins of WI; her daughter, Diane
(Gregg) Thompson of Somers, WI and their children Michael Thompson of
FL, Christina (Jeffrey) Olson of FL, Eric Thompson of WI, Elena (Phung)
Thompson of WI and Elizabeth (Ray) Brotherton of MI; plus those youngest
of the family that brought sparkles to Virginia’s eyes – seven greatgrandchildren, Mason,
Weston, and Jaxson Perkins, Ryder and Ruby Olson, and Emrik and Camilla Brotherton;
and finally her sister, Maryann Jackson of IN.
Virginia was preceded in death by her parents, beloved husband, and brother,
Jon Lebsack.
A visitation will be held on Saturday, August 31, 2024, from 1:00 p.m. until
3:00 p.m. at the Kingdom Hall, 14509 Braun Rd, Sturtevant WI 53177.
A memorial service will immediately follow at 3:00 p.m. CST. Zoom link is
available upon request. In lieu of flowers, memorials to the Kingdom Hall
would be appreciated by the family.
