Virginia Champion

Virginia "Ginny" Champion passed away on October 2, 2026, in Asheboro, North Carolina, at the age of 86. She spent her final months in the home of her daughter, Joyce, surrounded by loving, around-the-clock care.

Born March 1, 1940, Ginny was the daughter of Theodore Chivalette and Elizabeth Clay. Her father emigrated at the age of five from Petrizzi, a small village in Calabria, Italy. She grew up alongside her sisters, Joyce and Carole, and her brother, Ted, and attended Atlantic City High School.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Ed Champion Jr.; her sisters Joyce and Carole; and her brother Ted. She is survived by her children, John, Joyce (named for Ginny's sister), and David; her grandchildren, Alexander, Rebekah, Christopher, Gwynn, Johnny, Miles, and Sarah; and her great-grandchildren, Bryson, Elizabeth, Owen, and Ryder.

Ginny worked at Wheaton Candles and for Lenox China. She was also a stay-at-home mother to her three children and to the many neighborhood kids who stopped by.

Ginny was endlessly creative. She made ceramics, baked for the people she loved, and sewed almost anything she could imagine. When John was 5, David 3, and Joyce a baby, she made award-winning witch costumes for the Halloween parade in Mays Landing, NJ. When David's first-grade class came to the family home for a field trip, she greeted them in a Big Bird costume she had sewn herself, wandering the property and handing out treats. These were only a few of the many creations she made for her family.

In her later years, Ginny and her husband, Ed, ran a small roadside stand at the corner of their property, selling the tomatoes and other vegetables they grew. It ran on the honor system, with a coin box on the corner of a table.

Everyone who knew Ginny would describe her as friendly, helpful, and kind. She was always happy to stop and talk with anyone, especially about her beloved Philadelphia Phillies.

The family has chosen not to hold a funeral, and instead invites you to remember Ginny in a lasting way.

In lieu of flowers, please consider planting a tree in her memory through the Arbor Day Foundation, PO Box 80208, Lincoln, NE 68508 (arborday.org).

Ginny will be remembered by all who knew her, and we hope the Phillies will give her something to cheer about from above.