Lauretta Virginia Jones, 97, died August 25, 2017 at Pine Village, Moundridge, Kansas. She was born on October 29, 1919 in Swanton, Vermont the daughter of Alfred and Jessie Fletcher Brow.

She moved to Montreal, Quebec, Canada with her parents and 2 younger sisters while at a young age. There she attended a strict Protestant all girls’ school through three years of high school when she quit and went to work at Eaton’s Department store. After the United States entered World War II she came back to the States and enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. After boot camp and a school in Chicago she was stationed in Southern California until the war ended. She later gained a pilot’s license and flew for a short time.

Cecil and Virginia first met when they were both working in the same office in Russell, Kansas in 1954. They were married on September 2, 1955 in Eckert, Colorado. After working for an Engineering company in Colorado, Tennessee, and Illinois they returned to the Utica area in the Spring of 1956 and have been there since except for six years when they lived in Great Bend, Kansas.

Virginia was a para-professional teacher for about 20 years in the Utica, Ransom, and Great Bend schools. She also served on the Utica School board for a time.

Virginia is survived by her husband Cecil of Utica; son, Dale and his wife Alina of Hesston; grandson, Dylan and his wife, Astrid of Newton and three great grandchildren, Diego, Juli, and Olivia; grandson, Logan of Ft. Collins, Colorado; sisters-in-law, Delores Huxman of Ransom, Bobbie Jones of Eckert, Colorado and Lottie Jones of Montrose, Colorado; many nieces and nephews and lots of friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents, two sisters, several brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law.

Memorial service will be on Saturday, September 2, 10:00 a.m. at the Utica Methodist Church followed by burial in the Utica Cemetery with full Military Honors.

Visitation with the family will be held at Fitzgerald Funeral Home, Ness City on Friday, September 1, 2017 from 6 to 9 p.m.