Virginia L. Kurtz passed away in Seargent Bluff, Iowa at the age of 87 on November 11, 2024.   Memorial services will be held at 11:00 AM on Tuesday, November 19, 2024 at Eidsness Funeral Home in Brookings, SD. Visitations will be one hour prior to the service.

Virginia was born on November 17, 1936, in Canton, SD, to Milton and Marjorie (Hicks) Ellis.  She attended country school near Canton, SD.  In the fifth grade, she moved with her parents to Elkton, SD, where she continued her elementary education and graduated from Elkton High School. Virginia continued her education at SDSU and received her Bachelor's degree in Home Economics Education.  After receiving her education, she began teaching in Wilmot and Milbank, SD, for three and a half years, before working in the retail industry for the next 23 years.

Virginia was united in marriage to Raymond Kurtz on July 7, 1963, in Elkton, SD.  To this union, they were blessed with two children. Together, they farmed north of Elkton until their retirement in 1995, when they moved into an apartment in Brookings. While on the farm, Virginia was able to bring her knowledge and passion for sewing to her work with JoAnn Fabrics and then later to JC Pennys. She enjoyed the people she worked with in Brookings and found great satisfaction in her work.

She was a member of United Parish in Elkton, the Brookings Area Quilt Guild, and the Up and At It Extension Club for 39 years. Virginia's passions were cooking and sewing.

While on the farm, she would make homemade donuts and treats for the men who would come and help Raymond with cattle, and for the holidays her cinnamon rolls will be forever remembered (frosted for Nancy and caramel for Michael).  Later in life, she would make beautiful hand-stitched quilts with patterns and designs that she would make up & modify herself.  She loved a good word find or Christian fiction novel, but first and for most visits from her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren as well as her extended family. The love of her life (Raymond) passed away on November 23, 2023. She and Raymond would sit next to each other for hours on end without needing to say a word. Together in the Brookings apartment then later in the nursing home, with the other never being too far away.

Virginia is survived by her children: Nancy (Ross) Bower, of Vivian, SD, and Michael (Kristine) Kurtz, of Dakota Dunes, SD; six grandchildren: Austin (Emily) Bower, Vivian, SD, Jeff Kurtz, Sioux Falls, SD, Morgan Bower, Spearfish, SD, Megan Kurtz, Des Moines, IA, Benjamin Kurtz, Sioux City, IA, and Emily Kurtz, Vermillion, SD; three great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents, husband Raymond; four sisters, Donna Timm, June Kleffman, Betty Yeager, and Patricia Mueller; and brother, Duane Ellis.