In Loving Memory of Virginia Bognet

Virginia Ann (Perline) Bognet was a woman of many titles. Many know her as Virginia, others as Mom, Gran Gran, Ginny, Virgie, Little Virginia, and more.

I was lucky enough to not only call her Gran Gran, but to call her a friend for 25 years of my life. As a child, I looked forward to our visits to Gran Gran and Pop Pop’s house in Pennsylvania to have some of her famous meatballs and viscutz cookies, to join in her nightly routine of watching Wheel of Fortune followed by Jeopardy, to use her lemon soap in the pink bathroom, and most of all, to spend time with her. 

As I got older, FaceTime became the main form of our communication and I looked forward to our calls once or twice a week to hear about the latest Hazleton news, a new fun fact she learned on Jeopardy, or her recent Words with Friends matchups. Most of all, I cherished her and my Pop Pop’s infamous birthday calls where they would sing “Happy Birthday” in sync with the biggest smiles on their faces. 

After I graduated from college, I was lucky enough to get to spend 6 months seeing her almost every day before I relocated to Georgia for work. During this time, we would watch Hallmark movies, listen to Frank Sinatra and Perry Como, get pink drinks from Starbucks (her favorite) and re-create some of her most famous recipes over the years. However, during this time I also witnessed dementia slowly creep into her life. It was heartbreaking to see the strong woman I always knew slowly lose her confidence and slowly forgetting her favorite things, including her famous apple tutta recipe. 

While dementia may have clouded her memory, it never clouded her spirit or her love for her family, especially her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Our family knows firsthand just how awful this disease can be and therefore, we are asking for donations to the Alzheimer’s Association in her memory with hope that other families will not have to endure this one day. We miss her dearly, but know she is no longer suffering and is back with the love of her life, Rex, her parents, and all those who went before her.

Thank you in advance for your kindness and generosity from myself and the entire Bognet family.