Virginia L. Spika

Virginia Lucille Spika 92 of McMinnville, OR passed away peacefully on Saturday June 5th, 2021, surrounded by family in McMinnville, Oregon. Virginia was born in Great Falls, Montana on September 8th, 1927, to Yugoslavian immigrants Nicholas and Mary (Tuss) Pipinich. She spent her childhood on the family farm in Winifred, Montana; where she helped tend the cows, did chores, played outside with her siblings and cousins and walked 6 miles to school every day. On her way home, she would stop at her grandmothers' who would always have a cinnamon roll or doughnut hot and ready to fuel the rest of her and her sister's walk home.

After graduating from Winifred High School, Virginia worked at Northwestern Bank where she was a teller, and spent her free time playing league softball and traveling to tournaments on the weekends. She met her husband, Frank, while attending a dance where Frank and his family were part of the band. They married on September 9th, 1950, and settled in Denton, Montana where they raised three children: Nick, Chris and Joy. Virginia spent her days caring for her children, tending her vegetable garden and making elaborate wedding cakes for local brides.

Once she and Frank became empty nesters, they moved to Great Falls where Virginia worked for the historic Beckman Brother's Furrier. She was skilled in many tasks, but she was an extremely skilled seamstress creating and repairing fur coats for Montana locals as well as the Hollywood elite and later conducting an alterations business where she fit many a bride and bride's mother dresses. She enjoyed traveling the US and internationally as well as visiting her grandchildren in Washington and Oregon where she particularly enjoyed picking berries and fresh fruit that she would preserve to take home to Montana.

Virginia was a wonderful wife, mother, friend, neighbor and avid card player. She is survived by her four brothers and sisters: Mary Jones, Peggy Ployhar, Albert and Tom Pipinich and Sharon O'Reilly, her three children: Nick Spika (Janice) of Tacoma, Washington, Chris Browne (Tony deceased) of McMinnville, Oregon, and Joy Killham (Marty deceased) of Hutchinson, Kansas, her four grandchildren: Erin Gray (Adam) of McMinnville, Oregon, Katie Stachow (Greg) of Anchorage, Alaska, Mallory Spika (Andrew) of Sun Valley, Idaho and Brad Spika (Kelsey) of Swall Meadows, California in addition to two great-grandchildren, Frank and Noah Stachow.

Memorial Mass for Virginia L. Spike will be Saturday, August 7^th, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. with Committal to follow in Mount Calvary Cemetery. The Cloyd Funeral Home is assisting the family.

Friends are asked to make memorials to the charity of their choice and they may be left with the Cloyd Funeral Home. Condolences for the family may be posted online at www.cloydfuneralhome.com.