Virginia “Ginni” L. (Joslyn) Cook

Ginni passed away peacefully in her Troutdale Oregon home on June 1, 2026. She was born in Kalamazoo Michigan on January 13, 1956 to Thomas G. Joslyn, and Beverly M. (Perkins) Smith. She was born on a Friday, and always considered Friday the 13th her lucky day, regardless of the month.

Ginni graduated from Athens High School in 1974. She went on to graduate from Kellogg Community College. While attending KCC, she began working at the Stone Inn restaurant as a server and over her many years of employment, she made deep and meaningful friendships with her co-workers and the restaurant owners. After the Stone Inn closed, she attended Davenport University, where she earned a Bachelor's Degree in Accounting. She put her degree to good use working at Hayward Tax and Accounting in Climax, SignArt in Kalamazoo, and H&R Block in Troutdale Oregon.

When out with friends, she heard a band and met the guitar player named Bill. She and Bill were married on December 24th, 1977. They started their life together in Athens. Ginni’s children grew up with their mother proudly supporting them, whether it was sitting in the heat at T-ball, little league, high school baseball, or the cold bleachers during Rocket and high school football. She attended cheerleading competitions, dance recitals, piano lessons, and concert bands. She made trips back to Kalamazoo to watch the Western Michigan Marching Band during their halftime performances and the year-end concert. For their 40th wedding anniversary, Ginni and Bill took a trip to Hawaii, where they visited the Pearl Harbor Memorial which stuck with her long after they returned home.

While working at SignArt, Ginni was presented an opportunity to help open a new SignArt office in Portland, Oregon. After much deliberation, Ginni and Bill moved the family to the Portland suburb of Troutdale. She bragged that she bought a home with a mountain view. She rejoiced when friends and family visited. Her favorite places to show off were Mount Hood, Multnomah Falls, The Rose Garden, Vista House, the Columbia Gorge, Voodoo Doughnut, and Powell’s Bookstore.

In her spare time, Ginni was an accomplished seamstress. She did alterations from her Athens home, made her daughter’s prom dress, jazz band dress, and piano recital outfits. She made plenty of Easter outfits and matching reunion outfits for the whole family. She also hand quilted, did cross-stitch and diamond painting.

Ginni was a voracious reader. She was proud of the library she created complete with sliding climbing ladder. She became a huge football fan, rooting for the Detroit Lions, Western Michigan, Michigan State, and for some odd reason, Woody Hayes and Ohio State. She was also a fan of the Detroit Tigers. She was very intelligent and had a quick wit—nothing got past her. You always had to think twice about calling her during Jeopardy or Wheel of Fortune! She and Bill had their 30 seconds of fame when their daughter won big on Wheel of Fortune.

From a young age, she was a writer. She wrote short stories and poetry. Ginni was a member of Climax United Methodist Church where she shared her voice in the choir and wrote Sunday School Christmas programs. She also liked playing video games like Super Mario, Tetris, Zelda, and Final Fantasy. She liked watching the birds outside her window. She loved her dog, Bijou, and her adopted sister cats, Daisy and Lilac.

She is survived by her husband of 48 years Bill Cook; her sons, Gregory Cook and Matthew (Andrea) Cook; her daughter Joscelyn Cook; her grandchildren, Kahmaria Cook, Adam Cook, Liam Pankey, Nathan Cook; sister Mona Joslyn; sister-in-law Kieu Joslyn; step-mother Margie Joslyn; step-sisters, Tami (Jim) Verbryke, Glenda (Lenny) Ward; several nieces and nephews, Uncle and Aunt, and many cousins. She is preceded in death by her parents and her brother Thomas E. Joslyn.

Cremation has taken place and a graveside service will be held on Saturday, July 11, 2026, 1:00pm at the Beckley Cemetery in Battle Creek.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Shriner Hospitals or an Animal Shelter of your choice, or you can buy a book and share it with a friend.