Virginia B. (Donaldson) Hall

Virginia B. (Donaldson) Hall, 83, passed away June 16 in her San Anselmo home of thirty-three years.

She was born in Minnesota in 1933. The family trekked West during the Great Depression and she grew up on her parents’ chicken ranch in Napa County. She graduated from St. Helena High School, then from Sacramento State College with a degree in Art History. Virginia was an accomplished artist who worked in her early years as a cartographer for Stanford Research Institute and for the Goushá Company, which produced the famed roadmaps of yesteryear.

For two decades, she was a social worker for the City of San Francisco; she recalled witnessing the Summer of Love from her home in the Haight. She remained an avid reader throughout her life and took great interest in the issues of the day.

She is survived by her daughter Alyce Mahan Brownridge (Dennis) of Las Vegas; by her grandchildren Lucas Albrecht (Destiny) of Santa Rosa, Ellen Brownridge of Las Vegas, Austin and Claire Hall, and Kate and Olivia Valante, all of Connecticut; by her great-granddaughters Kaya Albrecht and Faye Hale, and by her stepchildren Steven Hall and Charmian Hall Valante of Connecticut.

She was preceded in death by her eldest daughter Laura Bea Albrecht of Sonoma and Wuhan, China, and by her first husband William Mahan (Penny) of Sacramento, her second husband Peter DeWees of San Francisco, and her final husband of 36 years, George Hall. She leaves a wide circle of friends who remember her wit, enthusiasm for people and life, classic cooking, and beautiful garden.

A gathering will be held in San Francisco on Sunday, July 9, from 2 to 4 pm. Please contact Alyce Brownridge for details.