My Sister Virginia

I am Virginia's youngest sister, Carol. Her family nickname that she gave herself as a toddler and which stuck with her through her lifetime was "Nina." She was 16 years older than I am, so in my growing up she was more like an aunt. We got closer as sisters in my early 20's when I moved to the Bay Area at Nina's suggestion.
Over the decades, I watched as she moved through different facets of her life being successful at each turn. We shared a lot in common and also were very different as well. It made for a good combo and sometimes some clashes as well. That is family sometimes but whatever happened, we always came around to forgiveness.
I have not lived in the Bay Area for 15 years, but the last 5 years of Nina's life she did come out to visit me and our mother here in Colorado a number of times. During these past years, Nina and I talked on the phone at least every other week - usually once a week sharing whatever was going on in our lives.
During the last year, I asked her over and over to go back to the doctor for her medical issues but I was not successful in overcoming the objections. My regret at that is huge and it's still hard for me to deal with her passing as she did. But, regret gets us nowhere and celebrating her life is what it's about.
With that, one of my very favorite memories are the times we spent up at Estes Park which is a small town high in the Rockies about an hour from where I live. One year we attended the Scottish Festival in Estes and she was SO curious about our Scottish heritage and soaked in the genealogy, read suggested books, loved the bagpipes and the beautiful views of the Rockies from over 10,000 ft. elevation. I have posted some pictures from those events on this site.
Debra, thank you so much for putting this site up. I really appreciate it more than you know and have enjoyed seeing the pics from her visits to Montana with you guys. I would post more pics but I am moving in 2 weeks and all my boxes of pictures are deep in storage.
Because of the 1,200++ mile move to Whidbey Island Washington, and the fact that I was unable to postpone it, I won't be able to attend the interment of Nina's ashes on April 4th. I really applaud the decision to inter her ashes with Aunt Marge's. I cannot imagine a better choice. I am sending a short message with my sister, Janet to be read that day.
I will be thinking of everyone and most especially my sister, Nina who I sorely miss.
With Love, Carol Chesney

Remembering Virginia McNeill

I first met Virginia McNeill by telephone in March 1999, when I was still living in Manhattan and was about to move to the Bay Area. My daughter Suzy had contacted Virginia on my behalf and had asked her to find me a decent condominium at The Watergate in Emeryville. The previous year Suzy had seen a lovely Watergate condo and had sent me photos. I liked the condo very much but was not yet in a position to purchase it, so the condo went to another buyer. And then Virginia came into the picture. No condos were available in my price range, and I had a job waiting for me in San Francisco, so I decided to move here and stay with Suzy until I either found a place to buy or moved into a rental. The movers came to my crowded Manhattan studio, and it took them three days to pack it all up. On the third day, while the movers were still there, the telephone rang. It was Virginia. “Are you sitting down?” she asked. I sat down. “You know, the condo Suzy saw? The one she took pictures of? Well, it’s on the market again.” The price has risen $30K in the intervening year, so Virginia and I talked at length about how to pay for it. I finally decided that I couldn’t afford it and I reluctantly ended the phone call. An hour later Virginia called again. “You know, the City of Emeryville has a first-time buyer’s program and you’ll be entitled to a loan from the City. I think, with that loan, you’ll be able to afford the Admiral Drive condo because you’ll only need to pay X per month.” I couldn’t believe it! So I said yes. Sight unseen, mind you, except for the year-old photos. And that’s how I met Virginia McNeill! It was Virginia who introduced me to Trader Vic’s, where she invited me to lunch to celebrate the purchase of my condo. It was Virginia who introduced me to Chez Panisse, where we went one year to celebrate our November birthdays. And it was Virginia who introduced me to Berkeley’s Central Works Theater Company, where I still go to see plays. After sixteen years I’m still delighted to be living in the Bay Area, and I love my condo, which is perfectly located and is ideal for me. I consider myself very fortunate and I am forever thankful to my daughter Suzy and to Virginia for having helped me find my perfect home! And six weeks ago, when I received the sad news of Virginia’s passing, I could not – and still cannot – wrap my mind around the notion that this lively, quirky soul had left us much too soon. May she dream in peace.

Virginia Chesney McNeill

Virginia McNeill was born November 12, 1940 in Chico, California to Marion and John Chesney. She grew up in Chico, graduating from Chico High school and attending Chico State University. In April, 1958, she married William (Bill) McNeill. Virginia and Bill had three children, Debra, Matthew and Sheila. They divorced in 1970.

Virginia returned to academia in the late 1960’s earning bachelors and masters degrees in English literature from Cal-State, Hayward. She also worked toward a doctorate degree in English at U.C. Davis. After leaving academia, Virginia owned a custom quilt business, work in customer service at Sprint and held a variety of other positions in the financial services industry and legal profession.

In 1992, Virginia married Clem Stein and joined him the real estate industry. In real estate, Virginia found her professional calling and enjoyed assisting her clients in achieving their property investment goals. She frequently said, “I love this business. I could work into my 80’s.” Virginia and Clem were divorced in 2002. In 2005, she co-founded All Emeryville Properties.

Virginia’s great passion was books. She devoured books, so long as they were well written, preferring murder mysteries and English literature. She was an active and contributing member of Cal State Hayward’s SCHOLAR-OLLI Program. Virginia’s second passion was classical music. She learned to play the piano as a child and was given her first exposure to classical music through the works of Bach, Chopin, Schubert and Mozart. (Actually, she didn’t much care for Mozart.) Virginia also loved antiques, a variety of artistic genres, traveling, theatre and film. For many years, she also enjoyed skiing.

Virginia is survived by her children Debra McNeill (Ed), Matthew McNeill and Sheila McNeill (Michael), her granddaughters Tess and Beth Wrzesinski, her cousin Donald Samuel, her sisters Janet Chesney (Owen) and Carol Chesney, and their families. Virginia is preceded in her death by her parents Marion and John Chesney.

No memorial service is scheduled at this time.

Memorial donations may be made to Options Recovery Services, www.optionsrecovery.org, (510) 666-9900, 1931 Center Street, Berkeley, CA 94704.