Virginia Joan Suggs died peacefully on Sunday, April 9, 2017 in Modesto, CA, at the age of 85. She was born to Walter Scott Ahlbrandt and Elinor Lamb Ahlbrandt on October 23, 1931. At that time, Scott and Elinor lived in Hynes, CA, but Virginia was born in the nearby town of Compton. Her parents divorced before she was two, so Virginia moved with her mother to the home of Auntie May (Granny Edwards), Virginia’s great aunt, who lived in Los Angeles. It was there that her mother met Florin Lutz, who delivered milk to their house on his milk route.
Florin and Elinor married in 1934, and the new family moved to Downey, CA, to live on Blue Star Dairy, which Florin and his brother-in-law owned. The dairy employed several extended family members, so Virginia had many cousins to play with as she was growing up. Two brothers were born while the family lived on the Dairy – Florin Richard in 1936 and James Allen in 1939.
Virginia was 12 years old when Florin moved the family from Downey to Oakdale, CA, to a ranch known as Claribel Livestock Co. Virginia attended Oakdale schools, graduating from Oakdale High School with the class of 1949. She continued her schooling at a commercial college in Fresno, and at Modesto Junior College. She was employed successively by a Trust Company in Modesto, an Oakdale physician, the Oakdale Bowling Alley, and Hershey Foods.
While attending MJC, a classmate, Mary Ann Levin, suggested to Virginia that she should meet her older brother, Stanley, who was serving in the Army. The meeting apparently went well. Stanley and Virginia were married in May, 1953. Two children were born of this union, Karen Florian Levin and S. Robert Levin. During Virginia and Stanley’s marriage, they lived in both CA and Oregon. They later divorced.
In 1978, Virginia met Ronald Suggs, a native of North Carolina, and they married a year later. They lived in Oakdale for a while, but Ron needed to return to North Carolina to be near family, and he also wanted Virginia to see the beautiful country where he was raised. They returned to CA after about five years, and a short time later, they divorced. Virginia soon moved to the Oak Haven Senior Apartments in Oakdale, where she lived the rest of her life.
Virginia owned several dogs and cats throughout her life. She was artistic and creative in many ways. She loved to sketch and paint landscapes. She was good at crafts. She loved to grow flowers. She bowled regularly in her younger days, and she fished at every opportunity. She followed the S.F. Giants and professional golf on TV, and she loved to play Bingo.
Virginia was preceded in death by her brother, Richard Lutz, her nephews, Timothy Lutz and Allan Lutz, and her sister-in-law, Jean Lutz. She is survived by her daughter, Karen Levin, her son, Robert Levin, her grandchildren, Eric Levin, Marisa Northcutt, Lukas Levin, and great­grandson, Jackson Northcutt. She is also survived by her brother, James Lutz, her sister-in-law, Leta Lutz, and her nieces, Pamela Kuppens and Lisa Lutz. She also leaves two cousins, Mary Hauselmann of Oakdale and Florin Stelzer, of Paso Robles, CA.
Virginia touched our lives in many ways, and her spirit will remain forever in the hearts of those who loved and cherished her. No services will be held, as per Virginia’s request. In lieu of flowers, donations in Virginia’s memory can be made to the Oakdale Shelter Pet Alliance, P.O. Box 1965, Oakdale, CA 95361.
The Oakdale (Calif.) Leader
May 3, 2017