Virginia M. Barker

Virginia “Jinny” McFalls Barker of Winter Park died June 14th aged 99. She was born June 4th, 1921 in Grand View-on-Hudson, New York to Robert and Henrietta McFalls. Jinny and her mother moved to Orlando, FL in 1941 and she married Donald Barker, a businessman, in 1942. They raised three children in Orlando and remained married until Don’s death in 2005. Jinny and Don loved Florida, especially its wilderness and wildlife. They could often be found relaxing and entertaining at their beloved Starbuck Springs property in Longwood, part of the Wekiva-St. Johns River watershed. Jinny found community and fellowship as part of the Winter Park Racquet Club and the Presbyterian Church. In 1994, the Barkers moved into a home in the Winter Park Towers, now Westminster, where Jinny enjoyed volunteering in the thrift store and taking her friends to brunch at KeKe’s every Saturday morning. Jinny was a world traveler from the time of a Western European tour with her parents in 1936 to a tour of ancient ruins in Jordan in the late 1990s and many points in between. Jinny is survived by her daughter Donna Emerson of Winter Park and son Rob Barker of New Smyrna Beach as well as three grandsons; George Emerson of Seattle, WA, Henry Emerson of Arlington, VA, and Andrew Barker of New Smyrna Beach. She leaves behind a legacy of grace, elegance, and good humor and will be missed. Jinny will be inurned alongside Don at the First Presbyterian Church of Orlando. Services will be planned for some time in the fall.