Virginia Anne "Ginny" McCluskey, 77

Virginia Anne "Ginny" McCluskey, 77, passed away on Saturday, May 7, 2005, at Colonial Manor in Whitefish after a long battle with Alzheimer's.

She was born on June 13, 1928, in Los Angeles, to George and Clara (Evert) Schultz. Her early years were spent in California.

She attended college at Pepperdine University, where she met Bobbie Lee McCluskey. They married and produced seven children - Lindy, Mike, Steve, Chris, Carrie, Kevin and Marty.

It was a life of music, and fun. Bobbie had played drums for Bob Crosby's (Bing's brother) Bobcats orchestra at one time. He taught Mike how to play. They formed a rock and roll band, and traveled all over Southern California, playing in little clubs here and there. There was never a time when music wasn't playing in the house and Ginny even tried her hand at managing a few bands for awhile. After a long marriage, Bobbie and Virginia were divorced, and went their separate ways.

Ginny, always had a bit of wanderlust in her heart, and she spent a lot of time traveling all over California looking for a new place to settle with her kids. She finally stopped in Lake Tahoe, and purchased an old resort named Big Chief. The kids and Ginny worked very hard to make a go of it.

The family met a lot of wonderful people, learned to ski, hiked the mountain trails, and enjoyed all that the area had to offer. After a while, Ginny felt that traveling bug again, sold the resort and off the family went to Salmon, Idaho.

Salmon was a very small town then, and they hadn't had the pleasure of knowing too many Californians, so it proved to be a difficult transition. After a year she packed up again, and off the family went, up the highway to Whitefish. Ginny was so trusting of her kids, she actually sent one ahead to buy a house.

Whitefish turned out to be just what she was looking for. It was a cute little town, and the family took to it right away. The kids thrived in school and skied Big Mountain every weekend.

During this time, she had read about Belize, thought it sounded interesting so she took the youngest, Marty, out of school and off they went, driving all the way by themselves on a four-month trip that she so enjoyed. She never lost that wanderlust and often packed the car and took off to who knows where. She worked many years at Hines Drug Store, and had many lifelong friends in town and around the west.

Approximately 15 years ago, the family started to notice signs of something not right with her. She was sometimes forgetful and even disoriented. At first, the symptoms just came and went, with long normal periods; then they became more pronounced. The family built her an apartment on one of the kid's property so she could be near and she lived there until she just couldn't be on her own anymore.

Friendship House Assisted Living in Kalispell seemed perfect for Ginny and she moved in, and stayed there for six years. When it was apparent that her needs became more than Friendship House could provide, she moved to Colonial Manor in Whitefish, where they took good care of her for the rest of her life.

"In the arms of the angels, Mom, may you find comfort there."

Virginia is survived by her seven children and their families, Richard and Lindy Marriott of Whitefish, Mike, Sandy and Megan McCluskey of Apple Valley, Calif., Steve McCluskey of Kalispell, Chris and Ray Chiang of Whitefish, Carrie McCluskey, Josh and Ginny Provo, Kevin, Laura and Kelsey McCluskey, all of Whitefish, and Marty McCluskey of Captiva, Fla., also her ex-husband, Bobbie McCluskey and wife, Dinah, of Nipomo, Calif.

No services for Virginia Anne McCluskey will be held at this time, but the family will celebrate her life at a future date.

Johnson Mortuary and Crematory is caring for Ginny's family.