Virginia Pauline McKinney Reisher

December 10, 1935 – August 16, 2026

Virginia lived what many would consider a simple life, but those who knew and loved her know that it was anything but small. She filled her life with people and hobbies she loved and found joy in the day-to-day tasks.

Virginia Pauline McKinney Reisher was born and raised in Antigo, Wisconsin. This is where, as a teenager, missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints came to her home. Everyone in the family knows the story of how she and her mother planned to prove the missionaries wrong. Instead, as they listened, they felt the Spirit and they decided to join the Church. Her faith remained an important part of her life. She loved the temple, loved talking about the Church, and was never shy about inviting others to church or sharing her testimony. Her grandchildren knew that a conversation with Grandma could very easily turn into a conversation about the gospel.

After she married, her husband's service in the Navy took their family to different places around the United States before they eventually settled in Logan, Utah.

Money was not always plentiful when her children were growing up, but Virginia was not the kind of person to let that stop her. Before she could afford a sewing machine, she hand-stitched clothes for her children. When there wasn't money for toys, she made her own. Her children remember the enormous tub of colored rice Mom created by mixing batches of white rice with different colors of food coloring. She poured all the colors together, and the children took turns playing in it. To them, it was better than any store-bought toy.

She was always finding ways to make things work. She taught her family how to use a water distiller, dehydrator, and wheat grinder; how to dry herbs and store them; how to can; and simply how to make good use of what they had. She knew how to do things, and she was always willing to teach someone else.

Virginia also had a creative side. She enjoyed drawing, reading Church books and magazines, and painting with oils. One of the paintings her family remembers most is of the Salt Lake Temple.

Whenever her children began fighting, Virginia had her own way of bringing peace to the situation. She would sing “Love at Home” to them. It became one of those simple childhood memories that stayed long after the arguments themselves were forgotten.

Virginia loved her garden. Family members remember eating strawberries in her front yard and following Grandma around while she worked. She was once so excited to show her grandchildren the asparagus growing randomly throughout her yard that she insisted they try it. To Grandma, it was perfectly good food, but to the grandchildren, plants growing in the grass were clearly not edible. One of her children remembers coming home when the streetlights came on, going outside, lying on a blanket in the backyard, and eventually falling asleep while Mom worked in the garden. When Mom was finally finished for the night, she would wake her up to go inside. Even after dark, you could often find Grandma still outside gardening, somehow managing to keep working with spotlights.

For years, Virginia was known as The Avon Lady, selling Avon throughout the Logan area. She worked hard, riding her tricycle around the neighborhood delivering orders, sometimes with grandchildren tagging along on their bicycles. She received many awards for her work, and over the years accumulated Avon porcelain dolls. There are fond memories of helping her prepare Avon orders, listening as she explained all of the products. And, of course, getting all of the little lipstick samples. She also worked at a nursing home, where she found purpose and friendships while cooking for others.

After her marriage ended, Virginia continued to build a life of her own. She was an incredibly independent woman who worked hard, supported herself, and paid off not one, but two houses. Eventually, she moved to Tremonton to be closer to some of her grandchildren.

She didn’t want people to be forgotten. Because of this, she kept newspaper clippings about people she knew and saved all the cards that she received over the years. When someone new joined the family, their name was added to the little notebook she carried in her purse. Whether it was a new spouse, grandchild, or great-grandchild, Virginia wanted to know them, remember them, and know exactly how their name was spelled. She used to say that she loved all of her children so much, and that included her grandchildren, because she considered them her children too.

Virginia loved her family and was always willing to help. She watched and cared for grandchildren, drove them to activities, spent time with each of them when she could, and wrote letters to those who lived far away. Even when she couldn’t see them often, she made an effort to remember and include each individual. One daughter remembers being in the hospital after giving birth to her second child while Virginia cared for her older daughter. When they came to the hospital, the little girl proudly wore pink curlers in her hair because she wanted to be just like Grandma. She had an overwhelming feeling of relief and gratitude knowing that Grandma was there taking good care of her little girl.

One grandchild remembers teaching Grandma how to put a movie on at her house, only to find that she would still often wait until she could come over and watch it with everyone else. Another remembers how surprised Grandma was that her grandchildren liked yogurt. “I've never known kids that like yogurt before!” she would say. There is also a memory of jumping in the house and accidentally kicking a hole in the wall. Certain that grandma would be angry, she “fixed” the hole with flour and water. Grandma must have known what happened, but she never said a word. Many remember her captivating storytelling and how special they felt when she made them one of the main characters.

Virginia continued to live independently for many years. Even after her children began wondering whether she should be doing everything herself, she was still gardening and mowing her own lawn. She continued reading as long as her eyesight allowed and never lost her love of a long bath. In her later years, when she could no longer do all the things she once had, she found comfort sitting in her favorite chair by the fire.

No matter what she was doing, Virginia had a way of being completely present. As the world around her seemed to get faster, Virginia was never in a hurry. She found purpose in spending hours tending her garden, taking a long bath, reading books, or simply visiting with someone. She built connections week after week in ordinary moments– at church, at the grocery store, while delivering Avon, at the county offices, in the garden, at the temple, and in the homes of her children and grandchildren.

She knew how to make a life with what she had.

And she made that life matter to a lot of people.

Virginia was preceded in death by her parents, Theodor and Pauline Olsen; her brothers John “Buddy” McKinney, Eugene McKinney, and George Patrick McKinney; and her grandson Lance Reisher.

She is survived by her six children, Vicky (Jack) Peterson, Mary Wardrep, Julie (Eugene) Perkins, Pete (Christina) Reisher, Betty Crockett, and Janet (Marty) Anderson; her brothers Richard McKinney (Ilene) and Danny McKinney (Sue); 22 grandchildren; and numerous great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.

Virginia will be deeply missed by the family she worked so hard to build and care for, and by all the people she loved. She had a way of making people feel seen, remembered, and important. That is something her family will carry with them.

A viewing will be held Monday, August 24, from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., followed by her funeral service at 1:00 p.m. at Rudd Funeral Home- Tremonton (111 N 100 E- Tremonton). Interment will follow the services in the Riverview Cemetery. The service will be livestreamed and can be accessed below.