KOLLMER, Virginia Ruth

The Daily Miner, Kingman, AZ - Published on February 2, 2012 - Virginia Ruth Kollmer was born March 12, 1921, in Sioux Falls, S.D., to Fred and Gladys Sawyer. Mom's family moved out to a little town named Escondido, in sunny California. Virginia was a beautiful girl and was married very young to Ralph Smith. They had a beautiful daughter they named Darlene. The marriage later ended and Mom met and fell in love with Chlos Bailey, a wanderer if there ever was one. This marriage produced three sons, James "Jimmy," Charles and William "Bill." All of her children were blessed with talent in art or music. Chlos disappeared around 1944 and was never heard from, so she was granted a divorce. She moved to Fort Collins, Colo., about 1960 where she met the love of her life, Lexie Kollmer, a retired Navy chief boiler tender, who worked for the Colorado State University power plant. He loved to dance and they met through friends, and soon found themselves dancing at the Moose Lodge several times a month. They married in 1963, and set up residence in Colorado where Mom worked at the Colorado State Veterinarian Hospital in the laundry. After retirement they moved to California to live. Lexie passed away in 1983. Virginia was having health problems and moved to Kingman to be near her son Bill. She lived independently until a fall at home left her with a broken hip. After her hospital stay she was taken to Desert Highlands for physical therapy and was recuperating well until a stroke left her paralyzed on one side and slowly ended her life. Mom was a private person while here in Kingman and most of her friends were either musicians, healthcare professionals, or Meals-on-Wheels friends. Mom loved to play the organ and was an excellent singer. Even into her '80s she still had the voice of an angel. She passed her love of music on to her three boys and the love of art to Darlene and Charles. As children we were taught to love the Lord and believe we could be anything we wanted with belief in ourselves and hard work. She was preceded in death by her brothers, Russell and Donald; sister, Dorothy; and daughter-in-law, Charles' beloved wife Maggie. She is survived by one sister, Marjorie of Washington State; daughter, Darlene Fernald (Jan) of Nebraska; sons, James and Charles of California and Bill (Margie) of Kingman; and too many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews to list. Virginia will join her Lexie at the Riverside National Cemetery. This obituary was written by both Bill and Charles so we both had our say. We would like to thank the staff at Kingman Regional Medical Center, Desert Highland Care Center, especially Trish and Lisa, Dr. Radler, Dr. Bokhari and Dr. Iqubal for helping her through the many hurdles she faced. A celebration of her life will be arranged at a later date. Go rest high on that mountain, Mom.