Virginia F. Brickett

Virginia F. Brickett, 84, a lifelong resident of New Hampshire, died Friday, June 6, 2008, in Lancaster, NH, with her family by her side. Ginger, as she was known to her family, was born in Hampstead, NH, on March 6, 1924, to Levi and Myrtis (French) Duston, the eighth of ten children. She married Ralph E. Brickett on April 7, 1945, while they were both on active military duty during WWII. She first met him as an infant because their families were very good friends. They were married over 60 years, until his death in February, 2006. Ginger's experiences growing up on the family farm helped when she joined the U.S. Marine Corps in World War II, because this tiny, gentle woman was a perfect match for the Corps' Motor Transport Division, where she drove and serviced vehicles, including 2 1/2 ton trucks. She attended Boston University and the University of New Hampshire, where she studied nursing and home economics. Other interests throughout her life included music, gardening, birding, cooking (especially with chocolate), camping, championing women's rights, political campaigns, rooting for the Red Sox, worldwide travel with her husband and grandchildren, and, most of all, family holidays. During her life, she worked at various bookkeeping positions, owned a store in Keene, NH, with her husband, and retired as Comptroller, NH Charitable Foundation. She volunteered as a Girl Scout leader, as an AARP tax preparer, and for NARAL. Surviving Ginger are her three daughters: Jane Brickett, Lancaster, NH, Jill Wagner, Cudjoe Key, FL, and Jacqueline Hill and her husband, Kevin, Vienna, ME; her ten grandchildren: Jennifer Wells and her partner Rubén Cabedo Solans, Andrew Hill, Emily (Hill) and David Kohlbacher, Matthew and Kristy Wells, Nathan and Karen Wagner, Alex and Suzette Hill, Caroline Wells, Erika Beth (Wagner) and Anthony Stevens, Rebecca Bowers, and Benjamin Bowers; and seven great grandchildren. She is also survived by her brothers, Leslie Duston, Dover, NH, and Gene Duston and his wife, June, Winthrop, ME, and by her sisters, Florence Butters, Bradford, MA, Dorothy Joslin Sundman, Littleton, NH, and Thelma Petell and her husband, Arthur, Concord, NH. In addition to her husband, Ralph, Ginger was predeceased by her parents and her brothers, Harold Duston, Kenneth Duston, and Donald Duston, and by her sister, Ruth Coupal. A memorial service will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 21 st , at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 274 Pleasant St., Concord, NH, with the Reverend Emily Burr officiating. Refreshments and a gathering will follow the service. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial donations be made to Girl Scouts of Swift Water Council, Campership Fund - Farnsworth, P.O. Box 10832, Bedford, NH 03110-0832.

Virginia F. Brickett

March 6, 1924 - June 6, 2008