For many people the phrase ‘Live Long and Prosper’ can be a hard goal to grasp. Some lives are cut short, some lives are filled with illness, but for one Marshall County resident, this phrase holds true. Virginia Kennedy, known to her loved ones as ‘Gigi’, not only is living a long life, at the age of 102, but she has also lived a very prosperous one.
Virginia and her twin brother entered the world on Jan. 20, 1923. Their birth brought the families sibling count to five daughters and five sons. Born and raised in Gulfport MS, Gigi recalls many fond memories of growing up with so many siblings. One particularly vivid memory involves her sisters frequently giving her makeovers. She shares how they plucked her eyebrows so thin that, even now, she exclaims, “To this day, they haven’t grown back correctly!”
In 1941, Gigi graduated from high school and continued to work at the local Walgreens Drug Store. Her salary was $10 per week. This is where she met her husband, Jack Kennedy. Jack was serving in the Coast Guard at the time and was stationed in Gulfport. On a warm Saturday afternoon in August, they decided to elope. They found a Justice of the Peace in Bay St. Louis, MS, a set of rings for $15 from Walgreens, and said ‘I do’ without her folks knowing.
Gigi recalls “I told my Mama I was spending the night at a friend’s house. That morning, she came to get me, and I wasn’t there. They told her I had gotten married. My daddy had already been searching for Jack aboard the ship he was stationed on.”
Off On Adventures
With Jack being in the Coast Guard, this set the stage for many travels and moves for the couple. First to Indiana, then to New Orleans. During their stay in New Orleans, Pearl Harbor was bombed. Jack was sent out to sea for many months at a time, so Gigi decided to move home to Gulfport. This would be where their first son, Brent, was born.
Their next moves took them to Louisiana, Florida, Alaska and Hawaii. She recalls a time while traveling to Alaska by train, they met Groucho Marx of the Marx Brothers. He was a famous comedian, actor, writer and singer. Their time spent in Hawaii was joyous. Their third child was born. The family now had Brent, Cynthia and John. The children enjoyed school in Hawaii, participated in little league baseball and even learned how to hula.
Next on the orders list was a move to Tennessee. During this stay, Gigi took an accounting course and earned a certificate. From there they headed to Agana, Guam. Guam would come to be one of Gigi’s most cherished places. Their home and school were converted from Quonset huts. Their two older children were of age to have a job. Brent would babysit and set the pins at the bowling alley while Cynthia made rings out of buttons and attached them to elastic.
Gigi was always wanting to learn and try new things. She and Jack took up golf, learned how to dance the tango and rumba and even performed it at a military club in Guam. She was also the president of the wives’ club, took a course to become a Girl Scout Leader, wrote commercials for the Ford Dealership and modeled on TV for a local dress shop. While telling this part of the story, Gigi smiled and said, “That’s the year I became a blonde.” Another one of her many jobs was to be the librarian at the library in Guam. She oversaw the bookmobile which delivered books to neighboring villages.
By 1960 their time in Guam had come to an end and they moved their family back to the states. Living in Virginia, Gigi took a job as the manager of a credit union. One more move for the family took them back to Hawaii and kept Gigi in the work force when she became the manager at the University of Hawaii Credit Union.
Flying Solo
In 1970, Gigi and Jack decided to part ways and filed for divorce, but this was only the beginning of yet a continued well-traveled and beautiful life for her. Gigi knew Guam always held her heart. So, when she heard that the Government of Guam Credit Union was looking for a manager, she applied and was hired. Happy to be back in Guam, she purchased a two door Datsun and began searching for an apartment. After finding housing, Gigi made great friends in Guam. Some would begin to travel with her on her many trips. Her travels included Hong Kong, Saipan, Singapore, the Philippines and even Egypt.
Just when you may think Gigi would be ready to retire or call it quits from her many talents or travels, she recalls the story of her time at the Police Academy. “The course was four hours a day for six months, and after 50 hours of training I was given my own patrol car.” Being on the police force in Guam came with many of what Gigi called “fun and exciting duties.” A few include being able to escort Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip to the government housing during their trip to Guam and crowd control while Pope John Paull II visited. But when commenting on her favorite duty, she says, “Going undercover and finding the drug dealers was very exciting.”
Finally in 1982, Gigi resigned from the Police Force in Guam and moved to Germany to live with her son Brent and his wife. Of course she worked at the local credit union there as well, and traveled with friends to Paris, Hamburg and took in Oktoberfest in Munich.
You may wonder how in the world this amazing lady ended up in Marshall County South Dakota. While living with her son Brent, she and her granddaughter Shawn became very close. Shawn and her husband Wyatt Kalbrener also lived the military life of many moves and new houses. However, during a stay in Hawaii while Wyatt was on deployment, Shawn decided to move closer to Wyatt’s family up in Britton South Dakota. Gigi decided she would move with Shawn and brave the South Dakota winters.
She celebrated her 102nd birthday just last week. Gigi still travels to Texas at least once a year to visit her son Brent. When asked “Do you travel alone?” she replied with the sweetest southern accent, “Oh yes, it’s a straight flight from Fargo to Dallas! I’m just waiting until the weather is nicer then plan to head down there for a visit.”
A special lady with a well-rounded life. Her secret to a long time on earth? “I would say to always work hard and stay active!”
