Minnie Gertrude (Diboll) Vinson, 88
Minnie Gertrude (Diboll) Vinson, 88, passed away on Saturday, Feb. 26, 2011, at Immanuel Lutheran Home, her happy home for 11 years, with the loving care of the devoted staff and the kindness of Hospice. Her family was able to have many meaningful and joyful visits just before and up to her final days.
Minnie G, as her family and friends called her, was born April 10, 1922, in San Diego to Jason and Mary Lou Diboll. The family lived on a ranch in the desert near the Salton Sea where her family had the phone at the lowest elevation in the U.S. Minnie G loved spending summers with her grandparents in San Diego.
After graduating as valedictorian of her class at Calipatria High School, Minnie G continued her education at San Diego State, graduating with honors in English and vocal music. She received her elementary teaching credential and began her teaching career in La Jolla, Calif., with a class of 45 third and fourth graders.
At a USO dance hosted by her sorority, Minnie G met Paul Garrett Vinson, a young Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton. A year later they were married, on Oct. 4, 1944, just before Paul was sent overseas to Okinawa.
After the war, Paul and Minnie G started their family and moved to the Los Angeles suburbs where Paul worked as an accountant and became the comptroller of Von’s Grocery Company, while Minnie G continued the teaching career that brought her such joy (and the Golden Apple Award).
The family loved boating, camping, water-skiing, going to the beach, and car trips all over the country. Dining and dancing and plays and concerts were also a big hit with the family. Paul and Minnie G had a happy and fun-filled life together for 30 years until Paul died of cancer at the age of 51.
Minnie G continued teaching while filling her life with new activities. She joined the church choir and the board of deacons at Arcadia Presbyterian Church, became a member of a City of Hope auxiliary, and traveled the world with her friends Dorothy and Mary Jane. Season tickets to the L.A. Philharmonic and box seats at the Hollywood Bowl were favorite ways to get together with friends and enjoy the classical music she loved so much. The most fun was spending time with her twin grandsons.
In 1999, Minnie G moved to Buffalo Hill Terrace to be closer to her daughter and son-in-law who had moved to Montana. She was welcomed into the membership of First Presbyterian Church, joined the bell choir, and bought season tickets to the Glacier Symphony and was ready to start a new chapter in life when she suffered a stroke and became a resident of Immanuel Lutheran Home. There she was cared for and included in all the many activities at her new home including being resident council president for a few years.
Despite her handicaps, her life there was full and satisfying among her new friends; the residents and the wonderful staff that makes life worth living. She was a warm generous, loving, happy lady who took what life dealt her, came up smiling, and shared her sunniness with everyone around her.
Minnie G was preceded in death by her parents, Jason and Mary Lou Diboll; her husband, Paul G. Vinson; and her sister, Stella Louise Mitchell.
She is survived by her son, Charles Vinson, and his wife, Lynda, of Ventura, Calif.; daughter, Mary Fitzsimon, and her husband, Thomas, of Condon; grandsons, Thomas Fitzsimon III, and his wife Amy of Elk Grove, Calif., and Paul Fitzsimon of Bozeman; brother, Alfred Diboll, and his wife, Bonnie, of Macon, Ga.; brother-in-law, William Vinson, and his wife, Luan, of Pawley’s Island, S.C.; and many nieces and nephews.
A celebration of her life will be held at noon on Thursday, March 3, at Immanuel Lutheran Home, Kalispell.
Memorials in Minnie G’s name may be sent to Immanuel Lutheran Home, 185 Crestline Avenue, Kalispell, MT 59901; or to First Presbyterian Church, 540 S. Main Street, Kalispell, MT 59901.