Virginia Bonita Yarger, 92

Virginia Bonita Yarger, 92, passed away after a brief illness on February 8th, in Sacramento, California where she had been retired. Virginia was predeceased by her parents and her son, Terry Dean Yarger. She is survived by three daughters, Sandy and Sally of California and Sheri of Oregon and six loving grandchildren, Amanda, Cody, Andrea, Sarah, Amber, and Ryan. She is also survived by her sister, Joan Tomlinson of Florida and North Carolina, and brother, Roger (Bud) Hillard of Georgia.

Virginia was a child of the Great Depression and was determined to succeed. She used her savings from baby-sitting and small jobs to pay for her first semester of college at Bowling Green State University. Then she worked in positions at the college library and student union to name a couple of her jobs to supplement her small allowance from her parents. With her Master’s degree in hand after her graduation in 1947, she began her career teaching. Virginia spent many years teaching 2nd grade and Reading at Montpelier Elementary in Williams County, Ohio. She was the daughter of Dale and Evelyn (Hollstein) Hillard and the niece of Richard Hollstein, all well-known teachers in Ohio. She was a particularly gifted teacher and made a significant impact in the lives of those she worked with.

Another quality Virgina will be remembered for was her gardening abilities. It seemed that any plant she came in contact with would bloom under her attentive watch. Her garden was a masterpiece with carefully crafted vignettes each complete with a rocking chair. She valued natural beauty and helped those around her see a better world through her eyes.

Fiercely independent, after retirement, she moved to the west to be near her children and grandchildren, and fully owned two residences, one in California, and one in Oregon, which allowed her to share her time with them. She was surely the captain of her own ship until going to the hospital for not feeling well, a week before she passed away from cardiac arrest.

There will be a graveyard service and interment Wednesday, February 28th at 10:00 am at Floral Grove Cemetery in Pioneer. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to your local school in honor of her time served in Education.

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