Obituary of Virginia Ballinger Groome Moorer

Virginia "Ginny" Moorer, 91, took God’s hand and “moseyed on” to heaven in the early hours of Monday, March 2, 2020. Virginia, born on August 3, 1928 to the late Paul Ballinger Groome and Blanche Emily Armfield Groome, was raised on a farm in Groometown, NC. After graduating high school, she worked for a brief period at Jefferson Standard Life Insurance Co. in Greensboro. She met Alfred Edward Moorer, Jr. in the spring of 1947 in Columbia, SC, and after just a five-month courtship she married the love of her life on September 6, 1947 at Groometown Methodist Church. Ginny was a thrifty homemaker who raised three active and rambunctious sons, obtained an impressive collection of primitive antiques, and made numerous friends as she relocated her family with Ed’s job transfers from Mt. Pleasant, SC to Richmond, VA to Edina, MN. Ed and Virginia returned to Richmond for 10 years before moving to the shores of Claytor Lake in 1989 where Ginny enjoyed herb and flower gardening, entertaining family and friends, and viewing the wildlife around their home by the lake. In 2005 they relocated to Roanoke, VA to be near Rick and Jenny. Ed and Virginia celebrated 69 years of marriage before Ed passed away in October, 2016. In addition to her parents and husband, Virginia was also predeceased by her brother, sister, brothers-in-law, and sisters-in-law, William and Doris Groome, Lucille and Tally Calvo, Dorothy and Charles Rigsby, and Robert Moorer. Virginia is survived by her devoted sons and daughters-in-law, Ed and Debbie, Glenn and Sally, Rick and Jennifer; grandchildren and spouses, Katie and Jon Taylor, Virginia “Ginny” Moorer, Matt and Ashley Moorer, Angela and Michael Zion; great-grandchildren, Madison Virginia Moorer, and twins, Jon Felton “Jack” and Eleanore Virginia Taylor; special friends, Mitzi and Pete Tolley and Pauline Ronk; and several cherished nieces and nephews. We will miss her generous heart, sweet smile, and the soft giggle of this true Southern lady. The family wishes to acknowledge with appreciation the staff of Our Lady of the Valley where Ginny lived for the past two years and loved her endearing caretakers on the 3rd floor. Also, we are grateful for the compassion and care she received from Dr. Nina Sweeney and later from the staff of Gentle Shepherd Hospice. Private family services of interment will be held at a later date for both of our parents in Groometown, NC and Charleston, SC per their request. Memorial donations may be sent to Virginia Association for Parks at: VAFP P.O. Box 9205 Norfolk, VA 23505 Attn: Moorer Memorial @ Claytor Lake State Park.