Virginia Litto Klevan

Virginia Litto Klevan died on September 24, 2020 of Covid-19 at the age of 91. Virginia grew up in South Philadelphia where she and her seven siblings lived above the family bakery. The bakery specialized in Italian pastries and candy, known for their delicious cannoli and fancy multi-tiered wedding cakes. She retained the skill to decorate delightful birthday cakes and the vow to never stuff another cannoli.

She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1950 and continued on to get a Masters degree in Education. She began working as a teacher in the Philadelphia public schools where she met her husband, Albert. As soon as the youngest of their three children was out of diapers, they began living abroad. First, they lived in Lagos, Nigeria and then in Seoul, S. Korea. In Seoul, Virginia taught English at Yonsei University.

Upon returning to the USA, Virginia and her family lived in Albany, NY where Virginia worked for the State Dept of Education. She retired in 1984 and moved with Albert to Florida. In retirement, Virginia and Albert traveled the world with the goal of seeing as many of the world’s art masterpieces as possible. Among their favorite destinations were Florence, Italy and St. Petersburg, Russia.

After Albert’s death in 1994, Virginia moved to Lacrosse, Wi to be closer to her daughter, Judy. She lived at Washburn on the Park and developed close friendships with Stanley Rolnick and Sherill Munson. Virginia could be seen walking downtown, either to the farmer’s market or to the Y for water aerobics. She was a member of the League of Women Voters and a lifelong Democrat. She worked the phone banks for many democratic candidates, including her favorite, Sen. Russ Feingold.

In her later years, she moved to Eagle Crest South where she could be found in her lounge chair singing along to her favorite operas, mostly Italian and preferably with Pavarotti. She was a fan of the NY Times crossword puzzle and of beating her grandkids in Scrabble.

She is survived by her three children, Tom (Linette) of Norfolk Va., Judy (Mark Nigogosyan) of La Crescent, MN, and Nancy (Kevin Benis) of Houston, TX, her sisters Rose and Eleanor of Philadelphia, PA, and her grandchildren, Christopher, Lauren, Zack, Max and George.

Donations in her memory can be sent to The League of Women Voters, Planned Parenthood or the LaCrosse Public Library.