Obituary of Virginia Greif

On June 6, 2023, Virginia “Ginny” Lee Greif, returned to be with her adoring husband, David, her family, and her Father in Heaven.  Ginny, a loving mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend, passed away peacefully with her family by her side.   Ginny was born on March 9, 1938 in Payette, Idaho the second daughter to Floyd and Dorothy Cassity.  As a young lady she traveled the country and the world but she kept returning home to Payette.

Raised in Payette, Ginny attended elementary school until her father tragically lost his life in an accident.  Her mom married Donald Johnson who lovingly adopted and raised Virginia and her sisters.  Her dad was in the Army, so the family began the world-wide travels that Ginny loved to reminisce about.  They lived in Japan for three years, then returned briefly to the states, and then on to Germany where Ginny started high school.  She finished her junior year of high school in Olympia, Washington, and after another move graduated from high school in Murray, Utah.  Ginny’s grandparents still resided in Payette, and she returned the summer after graduation to work at the cannery.  There she met the love of her life, David Greif.   They married in August of 1958 and so began the next adventure for Ginny.

After David graduated, they moved to Jerome for one year for his first teaching job, then on to Colorado Springs where David taught at the Air Force Academy High School.  While in Colorado, Virginia gave birth to their first son Richard (Rick), and shortly after the couple returned to Payette.  David worked with his dad in the family business, Greif’s Music Center, and Ginny worked there too as a secretary and bookkeeper.  Dave and Ginny went on to have 3 more children, Mark, Lori and Julie, and Ginny decided to stay home with their children and open a child care center.  Ginny loved many kids for the next 20 years before retiring, and still managed to help David with band displays and instrument repairs.

Virginia had many talents including being an excellent seamstress making clothes for her children, grandkids and for their barbie dolls, and altering and mending clothes for herself and friends.  She was also an excellent cook and happily shared her many recipes.  She is best known for baking the most amazing cherry pie that no one has been able to quite replicate.  She and David had a prolific garden and she loved to can vegetables and fruits and make jam from the produce they had grown.  She passed this skill on to her daughters and granddaughter Jill.  In addition to gardening, Ginny loved being outdoors for camping, snow skiing and family gatherings.  In her younger years she was quite an athlete, and this interest carried into adulthood as she played softball on city recreational teams, bowled and played golf with her husband.  Despite supporting her four children and husband in their multitude of sporting and musical events, she still found time to volunteer as a Girl Scout Leader and Band Booster. 

Virginia’s greatest loves were the Lord, her husband, David, and her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  She was still babysitting great-grandsons in her 80’s.  She was a member of the Payette Tabernacle Church and enjoyed attending church camp and church gatherings.  Ginny was a spit fire, never afraid to speak her mind, but she also had a soft side and was a wonderful caretaker for David as his Parkinson’s Disease progressed.  She is loved and will be greatly missed.

She was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 58 years, David Greif, father, Floyd Cassity, stepfather and mother, Donald and Dorothy Johnson, and sisters, Betty Brummet and Norma Foster.

Ginny is survived by her brother, four children, 11 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren, and several precious nieces, nephews, and brothers and sisters-in-law.

Brother, William Johnson, of Taipei, Taiwan.

Children - Rick (Jody) Greif of Payette, Mark (Laurie) Greif of Klamath Falls, Oregon, Lori (Daryl) Smith of Kuna, and Julie Strickland of McCall.

Grandchildren - Cassie (Brian) Walters, Mandy (Keith) Wilson, Daniel Greif, Cory (Shawna Kuehu) Enriques, Kelly Greif, Annalise Greif, Torrin Smith, Bryson Smith, Kierra Smith, Jill (Kris) Waldrupe and Vance Vinson.

Great-grandchildren - Braxton, Blake, and Beckett Walters, Wylder Wilson, Kanoa and Kaiona Enriques, Trystan and Kameron Ogburn, and Dean and Cole Waldrupe.

So thankful for you, Mom.  Two things we’ve always been able to count on are God’s never-ending presence and your love.  From the moment He placed us as a child in your arms, until now, He knew you’d be our wonderful mom.

Donations may be made to St. Jude's Childrens Hospital at 262 Danny Thomas Place Memphis, TN 38105  Donors Services PH. 1-800-822-6344