February 23, 1927 – October 24, 2022
Virginia (“Jinny”) Cox Atkinson died peacefully in her sleep on October 24, 2022. Her death was preceded by a fall fracturing her pelvis. A Memorial Service and Celebration of Life will be held at The Episcopal Church of St. Matthew in San Mateo, California (1 El Camino Real South) where she was a member. The service will be held on Saturday, August 5 at 10:30 a.m. A reception will immediately follow in the Church library.
Jinny Atkinson was born in Bismarck, North Dakota on February 23, 1927 to Gordon VanVoorhis Cox and Anne Atkinson Cox, whose families were from Pennsylvania and New England, respectively. She married Russell Jay Atkinson, Jr. in 1950, who predeceased her in 1978. Her first-born child also predeceased her in 1952. Jinny Atkinson leaves daughter Rebecca Atkinson Stirn and son Gordon Cox Atkinson, son-in-law Bradley Albert Stirn and daughter-in-law Sarah Kemp Atkinson, five grandchildren, a granddaughter-in-law and grandson-in-law and two great-grandsons. She is also survived by her first cousin Harry Henson of Westlake Village, California.
Atkinson graduated with a B.A. in Economics from Smith College in 1949 and was an avid volunteer her entire adult life. She served in various leadership positions with her Smith class, the Kansas City chapter and revived the Peninsula Smith Club.
She was a longtime member of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Kansas City, Missouri where both of her children were baptized and where she served on the Altar Guild. In Kansas City, she was on the Board of the Council on Alcoholism, held leadership positions in the Junior League of Kansas City, Missouri and was precinct committeewoman for the Republican Party in Mission Hills, a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri located in Johnson County, Kansas, the county credited for voting overwhelmingly in favor of supporting a woman’s right to choose. She also volunteered for Children and Family Services, St. Luke’s Hospital, the Children’s Blind Nursery School, her children’s schools and other organizations.
Retiring to Carmel, California after her husband’s death, Atkinson was a member of Carmel-by-the-Sea Garden Club and also volunteered for the Forestry Service and to preserve the California coastline. Always active in politics, she hosted fundraisers and other events in her home for the Carmel mayoral candidates she supported. She served on the Board of Trustees of All Saints Day School. A longtime golfer, she was a member of Monterey Peninsula Country Club, The Beach and Tennis Club of Pebble Beach, and Casa Abrego Club. She lived most recently on the San Francisco Peninsula where she was a member of Woodside-Atherton Garden Club and the National Society of Colonial Dames (California Chapter). She was actively involved with Peninsula Family Service and other organizations.
Known for entertaining, she often hosted large gatherings of families and friends, always full of effort but seemingly effortless to attendees. Enjoying her roots by summering at the lakeside cottage purchased in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota (where she met her husband) and then in Wiscasset, Maine, where her grandmother had been Valedictorian at Wiscasset Academy and where she was a member of Boothbay Harbor Yacht Club. She is buried in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, next to her husband and their first-born Sara Cox Atkinson. The family requests no flowers and, instead, recommends, for those interested, donations be made to The Episcopal Church of St. Matthew, All Saints Day School (Carmel), St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church (Kansas City, Missouri) or any of the nonprofit organizations she supported.