“Well done is better than well said” a Benjamin Franklin quote Virginia adapted as a lifelong motto.

Virginia passed away on Sunday, February 25th at home in St. Peters, Missouri surrounded by her family after battling cancer, she was 78.

A lifelong Catholic, St. Louisan and creative soul, Virginia was always shaping her surrounding world. She enjoyed personal time to focus on projects, and believed faith, a high level of craft, tenacity and determination were cornerstones to building one’s character.

Whether she was baking, knitting, crocheting, sewing, making pottery, tiling, refinishing furniture, overseeing home improvements, singing alto in choir, or simply arranging or performing music with her accordion; those who spent time with Virginia knew she found joy through daily creative activity.

In addition to all of her creative endeavors, she still found time to delve into a good book, listen to classical, broadway or popular music, shoot pool, assemble a complex puzzle, play bingo, consume all things “Star Trek” and enjoy an occasional rum & diet or Gewürztraminer when socializing with family and friends. Of all the life accomplishments she was most proud of, she often said it was raising both her son and daughter.

Virginia was born July 10th 1945 in St. Louis, Missouri at DePaul Hospital on Kingshighway to Dorothy (née Rubsam) and Henry Klueg. Growing up in Floridell Hills, Virginia’s parents taught her to appreciate both the performing and practical arts, and she quickly fashioned a life of music accompanied with a keen mechanical sensibility.

Virginia fondly recalled being introduced to the piano and accordion at an early age. Memories of her youth also included tinkering with her machinist father Henry in his workshop, helping mother Dorothy around the home, racing soapbox cars and playing Lionel trains with her brother Lawrence, roller skating in the basement, or chasing the family poodles in the garden.

Virginia attended Corpus Christi grade school, Rosati Kain (class of 1963) and furthered her study of accordion earning a bachelor’s degree in music education at Webster University (class of 1967). As a teacher of music, she led an award winning accordion orchestra, the “Maids and Masters” for Munson Music until the late 1970s.

In 1977 She joined IBM and was specially trained to maintain and repair the burgeoning fleet of Selectric typewriters deployed across the many offices of St. Louis. During her time at IBM, she also gave back to the community teaching word processing and COBAL programming through the Opportunities Industrial Center (OIC). In the evenings of the early 1980s she also returned to Webster University to gain a masters degree in business management.

Throughout the 1980s Virginia and her family hand-built their dream home adjacent to the entrance of Souix Passage Park in North County. Ever-curious, at the same time, she enrolled in ceramics courses at the Craft Alliance in University City where she began her life-long enthusiasm of creating pottery.

Virginia had many careers through life. From teaching music to corporate roles at IBM, Monsanto, Washington University, and ultimately AT&T, where she retired as a mainframe programmer in 2009. Retirement afforded her the opportunity to focus on arts, crafts, music and travel. Family and friends all cherish multiple handmade heirlooms from Virginia, including blankets, pillows, ceramic tableware, refinished furniture, and her annual hand crocheted Christmas ornaments. She would prefer to be known in perpetuity as a loving mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, musician and craftswoman whose favorite treat was anything chocolate, and a propensity for the color yellow.

Virginia was preceded in death by her parents Henry Klueg and Dorothy (Rubsam), her brother Lawrence Klueg, her third husband Melvin Turner, and son in law, Gregory Shenold.

Virginia is survived by her first husband Larry Hallar of Affton, Missouri, son James, his wife Ingrid and grandson Henry of Austin, Texas.

She is also survived by her second husband Duane Pinkley, daughter Elizabeth, her fiancé Thomas Warren, granddaughter Jamie Lotton, fiancé Nick LeRoux, and great-grand son Isaac; grandson Cason Farmer, and granddaughter Sophia Shenold all of St. Peters, Missouri.

A celebration of life will occur with details to be determined.

In her memory, donations can be made to the Webster University Community Music School, or the Craft Alliance in St. Louis.