Virginia C. Harkins went to heaven on June 26, 2021, surrounded by her adoring family. She is the last survivor of her generation, and lived to be 96. She was born April 22, 1925, to Florence Insley Speck, daughter of American painter Albert Babb Insley, and Dr. Frank G. Speck, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania. Virginia was the youngest of her siblings, Frank S. Speck and Alberta Insley Speck Hartmann. Her talents, faith and passion for living made days with her special. Ginny served as an active member of the First Baptist Church of Ogden for 50 years.

As a young child, she spent some of her winters in Connecticut with Gladys Tantaquidgeon, the Mohegan medicine woman whose family had become close with Dr. Speck as a result of his anthropology work with Eastern Woodland Indigenous American peoples. She graduated from Swarthmore High School on D-Day, June 6, 1944, and was proud to assist in the war effort as a part of the Women's Land Army. She also took pride in her accomplishments as a lifeguard for the WYCA and as an art student at Moore College of Art & Design.

She was married to Curt Eldredge, with whom she had her three sons, Robert, Thomas, and John. She went on to marry Robert Miles Harkins, with whom she spent 60 loving years and had her four daughters, Virginia, Janet, Annette, and Kathleen. Ginny, Bob, and the kids founded a homestead, nicknamed Harkins' Hill, upon which several of her children eventually built their own homes. She and her extended family also spent summer vacations together at a cottage on the Annisquam River in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

Ginny, as she was known by the loved ones who did not call her Mom or Grandma, was an energetic woman with a unique outlook on life that was truly a gift. She loved to put up decorations for every holiday, and spent time gardening, reading, and bird-watching. She was well-known as an expert craftswoman, having created a multitude of gifts for people including mittens, sweaters, and other clothing, baby blankets, booties, flower pins, doilies, carved figurines, paintings, and sketches. She had a thirst for knowledge and loved to share all the diverse facts she learned with her family.

Virginia was dedicated to her family as well as to her church family to whom she gave 40 years of service. She is survived by her children Robert Curtis Eldredge (Susan), Thomas Earl Eldredge (Helen), John Keith Eldredge (Claudette), Virginia Gail Hoesch (Thomas), Janet Louise Himes (Frank), Annette Marion Walls (Joseph), and Kathleen Jill VanNewkirk (Richard); she is also survived by 27 grandchildren, 45 great-grandchildren, and 6 great-great-grandchildren.

Visitation: Thursday, July 1st, 2021, 10:00am-11:15am at First Baptist Church of Ogden, 2446 Mill Rd. Boothwyn, PA 19061. Celebration of Life: Thursday, July 1st, 2021, at 11:30am at First Baptist Church of Ogden. Burial:  Mount Hope Cemetery, Aston. Condolences: www.nolanfidale.com.

Service Location First Baptist Church of Ogden Get Directions

Begins: Jul 01, 2021 11:30am - 12:15pm

2446 Mill Rd. Boothwyn, PA 19061 Cemetery Location Mount Hope Cemetery Get Directions

Jul 01, 2021 12:45pm - 1:15pm

4020 Concord Rd Aston, PA 19014 Condolences