VIRGINIA K. BEVANS (nee Kelly) age 75; beloved mother of Eva Bevans, of Columbus, OH; dear sister of Frances Kelly-deceased, Anne Schroeder (Richard-deceased), Peter "Monty" Kelly (Celia "Siovan"), George Kelly-deceased, Helen Rielinger, and Marie, Michael and James Kelly- all deceased; aunt, great aunt, cousin and friend of many. Virginia worked for many years downtown at Key Bank. Passed away December 8, 2023. Relatives and friends are invited to meet for her Funeral Mass Friday, December 15, Blessed Trinity Church (14040 Puritas Ave.) at 10 A.M. Inurnment Holy Cross Cemetery. Friends may call at CHAMBERS FUNERAL HOME of CLEVELAND, 4420 ROCKY RIVER DRIVE AT PURITAS THURSDAY 4-6 P.M.  Memorial contributions are suggested to The Bountiful Basement, 14040 Puritas Ave, Cleveland, OH 44135, or to the American Diabetes Association at https://diabetes.org/.

Virginia, or Ginny as she was known to family and friends, was born and raised in Cleveland, OH. She relocated first to San Jose, CA and then to Greensburg, PA. In the mid-1970s, she returned to Cleveland, where she raised her daughter and made the city her permanent home.

She had a loud laugh, which was easily inspired during frequent board games or card games with family and friends. She could wield a "Draw Four" in Uno with equal parts fierceness and hilarity!

Growing up as the third child of nine gave her lots of practice in being loud enough to be heard, a skill that served her well during her working years. She was a secretary across a variety of industries, including everything from welding companies to engineering firms. Her most recent working years were with Key Bank.

Ginny was a single working mother in corporate America during a time when women had to work twice as hard to earn half or less than their male colleagues. Her experiences helped her to become tough and competent, and a strong advocate for her point of view. She also learned to be thrifty and resourceful, teaching herself how to rebuild the inner workings of a toilet and to rewire a lamp many years before the invention of Youtube tutorials!

Like many of her siblings she was an avid reader, and it was common for the whole family to trade the latest Louis L'Amour and Dick Francis books, creating a traveling family library. Her passion for westerns and mysteries extended to movies and tv shows like Gunsmoke and Murder She Wrote, and expanded into sci-fi with her affection for Star Trek.

Ginny lived on Dale Avenue for over forty years, and was the third generation of her family to reside in the home that originally belonged to her grandmother Genevieve Crook. Her home and her heart were always open to family and friends, many of whom were welcomed in to stay as long as needed. Most recently she shared her home with her sister, Helen Rielinger and the two of them often hosted holiday celebrations and family birthdays.

She had a lifelong love of travel. Growing up, she traveled the United States with her parents in their VW bus, and later their pop-up camper. In 1986 she visited Stratford in Ontario, CA to see her daughter compete in the Shakespeare Recitation Competition, and years later they visited Quebec City together. Being part of the Kelly clan, Virginia was always interested in learning more about Ireland. She traveled to the country twice with her mother and spent some time studying the Irish language along with her sister Marie Kelly.

In her later years, she enjoyed cross-country train trips with her companion Richard Stein, seeing many cities from Chicago, IL to Portland, OR.  She returned from a cruise to California and Mexico as recently as last month.

After retiring, Virginia often volunteered at Blessed Trinity Church, helping with office duties, collection counting and driving fellow parishioners to church. She talked often and with pride about the great work Blessed Trinity has done to support the community.

She will be remembered for her vibrant red hair, her sharp wit, and her loud laughter.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests charitable donations to either The Bountiful Basement, 14040 Puritas Ave, Cleveland, OH 44135,  or to the American Diabetes Association at https://diabetes.org/. If neither option is for you, please think of Virginia the next time you wear her favorite color, Kelly green!