Virginia Ann Collins Lassus transitioned from her earthly life at age 96 on Sunday, June 23. Virginia’s daughter Patti and son-in-law, Steve, were by her side. Virginia was the devoted wife of the late Donald Albert Lassus. He was her truest love and in transitioning from this life, her loved ones are grateful knowing Virginia and Donald are together again.

Family and faith were strong and steady pillars in Virginia’s life. She cherished her two sons Donald A. Lassus, his wife Debby of Houston, Texas; Joseph P. Lassus [deceased], his widow Naomi Comeaux Lassus of Lafayette, Louisiana; and daughter Patricia J. Faulkner and her husband Steve of Gerrardstown, WV; her seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Having participated in a family Mother’s Day luncheon, Virginia was able to enjoy in-person visits with a number of loved ones and FaceTime calls with her grandchildren and their young children until the last week of her life.

Virginia’s parents, Virginia Mailhes of New Orleans, and Joseph Collins of Buffalo, New York, met in the Mojave desert in California when the vacationing lady’s train broke down. Joe Collins, a train inspector from New York, was out in the heat working on the train when the woman from New Orleans brought him a glass of water and a romance followed. Virginia’s childhood years were spent in Buffalo, with long visits to her mother’s native hometown New Orleans. She would always fondly recount memories of her maternal grandpa Louis Mailhes in New Orleans saving her from crochet lessons by taking her fishing and teaching her to drink and appreciate black coffee. She also loved visiting New Orleans to see her cousins Mike, Louis, and Mona; all of whom were more like siblings than cousins. In the day and age of Virginia’s childhood in Buffalo young ladies were expected to be focused on dolls, sewing, and cooking, but not for Virginia. She would always rather join the local boys in a game of stickball or shovel the snow off her apartment’s balcony.

Virginia was a teenager during World War II and had been trained as an East Coast plane spotter looking for enemy aircraft in a feared German aerial invasion. As a college girl, she had learned to fly an airplane at an airfield in Buffalo. So perhaps it was no surprise that when she met her cousin’s WWII-hero bomber-pilot friend, Donald Lassus, at a fateful Tulane basketball game, she knew her heart could only ever belong with Don. She returned home after the basketball game and broke off her existing engagement. Virginia and her beloved Don were married in July 1951. In the early years of their marriage, they would drive out to the Lakefront Airport in New Orleans and just watch planes taking off and landing. They dreamed of owning a small plane one day, but unfortunately that dream would never come true.

Her young husband had suffered hidden heart damage from childhood rheumatic fever, and he had flown numerous high-altitude missions over the Pacific in a B-29. He passed away from heart failure in March 1959 when young sons Don and Joe were 6 and 3 years old, and Patti would be born five months after Don’s untimely death. Virginia courageously cared for her three children and her ailing parents in the tiny three-bedroom home, sleeping on a pullout sofa in the living room for many years. Her son Don remembers grandparents and children eating in shifts.

Once her children were all school age, Virginia began working as the school secretary at Kohn Junior High and later at Warren Easton High School in New Orleans. After Patti graduated high school, Virginia began working for Martin Marietta at the NASA facility in New Orleans East. Although she had majored in business at the University of Buffalo, as a young woman, she had dabbled in oil painting and sketching. In her retirement, she studied painting and sculpture, and using south Louisiana, and the American Southwest as inspiration, she created many beautiful paintings. For several years, she was a docent at the New Orleans Museum of Art and at public libraries, and her favorite tours to give were to school groups.

When her son Joe moved to Tennessee, Virginia followed, living in Franklin for about ten years, and working in daycare until she was 80 years old. She enjoyed seeing the little preschoolers every day. When Joe passed away, she moved to West Virginia to be near Patti. She and Patti teamed up to sell gluten free baked goods at local farmers’ markets, and Virginia was the star salesperson, happily distributing samples and promoting their products.

All through her life she was an avid reader, even in her last days. She attributed her love of books to her father, and she always encouraged reading and a love for books with her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Virginia’s favorite outing as a young mother was to visit the New Orleans downtown library and come home with big piles of books of all genres. In her final years, she was in a book-reading circle with novels passed from between her family and friends with books shared and sent between Alabama, West Virginia, and Louisiana. She had an adventure some spirit and went to great lengths to keep her children entertained and organize adventures beyond their neighborhood. Her favorite places to go were Fort Pike, Chalmette Battlefield, and City and Audubon Parks. Once a year, she took everyone to the Pontchartrain Beach amusement park for an evening of miniature golf and fun on all the rides. She enjoyed camping and took the family to the Great Smoky Mountains on several occasions. She also took Patti and Joe on a road trip to Colorado to see the Rockies, but the Smokies remained her favorite. Virginia was a Girl Scout as a child, and happily volunteered to be a troop leader forher daughter’s troop, passing down her love of scouting which has continued to her granddaughters and now great-granddaughters.

She enjoyed going to the movies with her children and often took them to the big theaters downtown, usually on Sunday afternoons and often preceded by a dinner at places like A&G Cafeteria. Animals always held a most special place in Virginia’s heart. She was never without at least one dog and cat keeping her company in the house.

Although the Mailhes side of her family were of French and German descent, she had been raised in Buffalo surrounded by her father’s Irish family, and she only acknowledged the Irish side. She belonged to Irish social groups and learned a bit of Gaelic. When Joe became a Civil War re-enactor with a group representing the Confederacy, the New Yorker became a Rebel and sometimes gave tours at sites of Civil War battles in Franklin, TN. Virginia also shared with Joe a love of the Chicago Cubs and reveled in seeing them win the 2016 World Series. She loved to host dinner at a restaurant, and was always the life of the party. She was generous, affectionate, and welcoming right up to the end.

Virginia’s life was spent in the humility of being a good daughter and mother. She endured the bitterness of profound grief, and yet she never dwelled on her losses. Her faith was unwavering, and Virginia was devoted to prayer, the Catholic faith in which she was raised, and trusted in God to guide her through any and all of the difficulties life could bring. No challenge was impossible with faith, family, and friend sat her side. She never gave up and that’s the example she set for her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and all those lucky enough to marry into her extended family and be loved by her, too.

No services are planned at this time, however, Virginia did request that she be remembered in prayer at masses, and when walking through a local or National Park, especially her beloved Great Smoky Mountains. In lieu of flowers, consider a donation in her name to Bridging Life Hospice Care, 292 Stoner Ave, Westminster, MD 21157 bridginglifecare.org, or St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital https://www.stjude.org/.