She had a zest for life

Her passion for life didn’t stop when she stopped working or when Virginia Reilly became an octogenarian. Reilly, a lifetime Five Towns resident, was always active.

She suffered a massive stroke in Penn Station on Feb. 15 and died at Franklin General Hospice on March 9.

She graduated from Lawrence High School in 1942 before working a majority of her 47-year career at publications such as Esquire and Harper’s Bazaar.

“Virginia was a remarkable, independent woman who lived her life with zest, and the way she wanted to,” said her niece Jennifer Minnigan. “She will always be remembered for her lively spirit and strong personality, always the one to stand up for what she believed in. She was a devote Catholic who volunteered her time working with children in religious education, and as a lector at St. Joachim and Our Lady of Good Counsel churches.”

Reilly was active in the Atlantic Beach Association’s Beautification Committee and Rock Hall Museum where she served as president of Friends of Rock Hall from ’01 to ’03.

She is survived by her sister, Edith Minnigan of Hewlett, Joan Browne of Evergreen, Colo., and many nieces and nephews.

A Mass of Christian Burial was held at St. Joachim R.C. Church in Cedarhurst, and internment was at Holy Rood Cemetery in Westbury on March 15.

Memorial gifts may be sent to Friends of Rock Hall, 199 Broadway, Lawrence, NY 11559.