Virginia Ruth (Pasin) Carter

Virginia (Ginny) Ruth Carter passed away peacefully in her sleep on January 5, 2019.  She was born in Santa Cruz on November 7, 1929, and lived in San Jose during her child and teen years.  She attended a Catholic all-girls high school, graduating in 1948 as the senior class secretary.

She married Philip (Phil) L. Carter in 1951, and in that same year, moved “out in the boonies” to Garden Grove, knowing it would be the ideal place to raise a family.  They were married for 15 years, when Phil passed away, leaving her with four children, ages 6 months to 9 years, to raise on her own. 

Virginia was employed with Pacific Bell for forty years.  She started as a telephone operator and finished by being the first female desk engineer, taking part in establishing the 911 system in Orange County.  She was also a union steward.       

Virginia had a passion for volunteering.  She participated in the American Girls Softball Association in Garden Grove for eight years.  She served as team manager during the regular seasons and then managed the major-level All Star teams during the summers.  In addition to being a team manager, she served at various times as Treasurer, Vice President, and President. 

After her retirement from Pac Bell, she volunteered at the Garden Grove Historical Society.  For 11 years, she assisted in their semi-annual barn sales and in the office.  She was curator and served on the Board of Directors.  For her service with the Historical Society, she was one of the honorees of the 43rd Silver Spoon Awards in 2006, in which the Women’s Division of the Garden Grove Chamber of Commerce spotlights exemplary volunteer civic work.  

She also volunteered with Meals on Wheels for one year. 

Virginia was a voracious reader; a card player--poker, bridge, pinochle, you name it; and a traveler, the States and abroad. 

Her husband, Philip, passed (1966), as well as her sister, Lorraine Heaton (1982), and her brother, William Pasin.  She is survived by her four children:  Kenneth and wife Roslynn, David and wife Kelley, Kathleen, and Donna Carter, and her two grandsons, Kyle and Kody Carter (David and Kelley). 

Thank you, Coast Senior Care, in Garden Grove for your wonderful assistance in caring for Virginia.    

Virginia’s memorial service will be held on Friday, January 11, 2019, at 11:00 a.m. at Shannon Family Mortuary in Orange.  She will be interred next to her husband, Philip Carter, at the Good Shepard Cemetery in Huntington Beach.  A luncheon reception will follow at the home of Kenneth and  Roslynn Carter.   

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