Virginia Jane Ablan

Virginia Jane (Munyer) Ablan, 86, of La Crosse, passed away peacefully in her home on Wednesday, May 1, 2013.

Virginia was born on October 17, 1926, the daughter of Joseph and Mabel Munyer, in Williston, N. Dak. In 1947, she graduated from Mercy Hospital School of Nursing as an RN. She married John J. Ablan in 1948 and they made their home and raised their family in La Crosse.

Virginia was a member of St. Elias Antiochian Orthodox Church in La Crosse. Besides her devotion to her family and her church, Virginia was especially proud of her nursing career and the thousands of lives she touched over 30 years of nursing at Grandview and St. Francis Hospitals. Her compassion, warmth, kindness, sense of humor and true goodness set her apart as the extraordinary, loving person she was.

She is survived by her six children, Barbara Harper of Stillwater, Minn., James (Marilyn) of Chicago, Ill., Regina Roper of Durham, N.Car., Joseph (Julie) of Overland Park, Kan., Ruth Nasseff of Oakdale, Minn., and Charles John, M.D. of Tampa, Fla.; seventeen grandchildren and one great grandchild. She is also survived by her siblings, Ruth (Pat) Toay of Mora, Minn., George Munyer of Bemidji, Minn., and Bill (Anita) Munyer of Sacramento, Cal.; and many nieces and nephews. Virginia was preceded in death by her loving husband of 38 years, John; grandson, George Michael; son-in-law, Larry Harper; siblings, Don Munyer and Eleanor Munyer; and sisters-in-law, Beverly Munyer and Bernice Munyer.

Funeral services will be held on Monday, May 6th, at 11:00 a.m., at Christ Episcopal Church, 831 Main St., La Crosse. Rev. Dionysios Wilhelm will officiate. Burial will follow in Oak Grove Cemetery. Family and friends may call at Schumacher-Kish Funeral and Cremation Services, 200 West Ave. So., La Crosse, on Sunday from 4:00 until 8:00 p.m., where a Trisagion Service will be held at 7:00 p.m. Memorials may be directed to St. Elias Orthodox Church.