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Virginia Hake Speckman ’44

May 28, 2018, at her home in West Salem, Oregon.

Born in her family home in Toppenish, Washington, Virginia was raised in the Yakima Valley. She learned how to tell a good story from characters among the farmhands in her father’s employ, a skill she used to entertain friends and family for the rest of her life. After graduating from Toppenish High School, she attended Reed for two years, attending classes while working at the post exchange (PX) on the Portland Army Air Base. On base she met her future husband, Lt. Henry A. Speckman, a native of Newport, Rhode Island, and after a short courtship, they married at the base chapel in 1943. They were married 58 years and had five children. In the mid-’60s she reentered the workforce alongside Henry until they both retired in 1985. Until her final day, Virginia’s sense of humor remained sharp, bringing smiles and laughter to her friends and family. Her strong will, impeccable memory, and fierce independence kept her behind the wheel and living in her own home. Preceded in death by her husband, Henry, she is survived by her children: Jean Eves, Jim Speckman, Bob Speckman, Steve Speckman, and Jane Ellsworth.

Appeared in Reed magazine: September 2018

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