Obituary of Virginia "Ginny" (Pinney) Heil

Virginia “Ginny” M. (Pinney) Heil, 83, of Peabody, died early Friday morning at the Kaplan Family Hospice House in Danvers following a long courageous battle with Parkinson’s and cancer. She was the devoted wife of Charles L. Heil, with whom she shared over 63 years of marriage. Born in Brockton, she was the daughter of the late Brace and Rena (Blount) Pinney. In her youth, she lived in Chatham where she developed her love for the ocean. Upon entering high school, she moved to Lynn where she attended Lynn Classical High School, and graduated with honors in 1941. While in High School, she was a Drum Majorette. She was a member of the Ladies Auxiliary at the Captain Wm. G. Shoemaker Post 345 in Lynn for over 57 years, and served as an officer and secretary for 37 of those years. She also served for 12 years as chairperson for Girls State, helping many young women on the North Shore. She worked as a secretary at the former J.B. Thomas Hospital in Peabody for 8 years and later worked at Peabody High School for 10 years as an assistant to the Unit Director. “Ginny” as she was known to her friends was a “perfect” lady and was a strong family oriented person. She enjoyed watching her grandchildren in their sports endeavors in high school and college. She also enjoyed traveling on the bus with her husband, Charles, and the Peabody High girl’s basketball teams in support of the team and the coach, daughter-in-law, Jane Heil. She was a little league “mom” who was a strong supporter of her husband and son’s little league team, the Peabody Dodgers, in which her husband coached for over 38 years. She enjoyed gardening, baking, and bowling and was an avid reader. She also enjoyed shopping with her daughter as well. Besides her loving husband, she is survived by two sons and a daughter-in-law, Bob and Jane Heil of Beverly and Rick Heil of Peabody, a daughter and son-in-law, Karen and Mike Connolly of Georgetown, a brother, Brace Pinney Jr. of Atlanta, GA., a brother-in-law, William Heil of Ft. Thomas, KY, a cousin, Kay Kellett (formerly of Lynn) of Las Vegas, NV, and 7 grandchildren: Kristin, Bobby, Erik, and Justin Heil, and Brian and his wife Amanda Connolly, and Sean and Erin Connolly. She is also survived by several nieces and nephews. Her Funeral Service will be held on Tuesday at 10:00 AM at the Conway, Cahill-Brodeur Funeral Home, 82 Lynn St., Peabody Facility to which relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend. Visiting hours will be held on Monday from 3:00 until 6:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Kaplan Family Hospice House, 78 Liberty St., Danvers, MA 01923.