Simonson, Virginia Anne Balmer of Saint Paul, Minnesota, 85, died peacefully on Wednesday, April 10, 2019, surrounded by family. Born the second child of Gertrude and Frederick Balmer in 1933 and raised in West Salem, Wisconsin, Gini had a talent for music, art, and sewing. She worked part-time as a housekeeper during her teen years and graduated from high school in 1951. In 1953, Gini met the love of her life, Leroy Simonson, at a Valentine's Day dance, and they married on Halloween the same year. In 1956 they moved to Beloit, Wis., where she and Leroy raised their family. As her children grew older, she worked part-time for Sears and the Beloit Daily News, and after moving to Eden Prairie, Minn., in 1974, for Thomas Sales & Marketing and Research, Inc. After retiring in the 1990s, Gini and Leroy traveled the country in their motorhome visiting family, friends and sites of interest. She was a lifelong seamstress, sewing dresses, Barbie clothes, Halloween costumes and stunning quilts, jackets and gifts with absolute perfection. Gini loved reading, crossword puzzles, playing games, shopping, spending time with family and friends, and, most of all, seeing her grandchildren and great grandchildren grow. Her spirit lives on through her children Mark (Pat Thompson) Simonson and Ellen (Randall) Thomson of Saint Paul, Jane (Tim) Thorwald of Beloit, and Fred (Susan) Simonson of Andover, Minn.; brothers William (Lavonne) & Fred (Phyllis) Balmer, sisters Lorna Kirby and Barbara (Joseph) Hesselberg; grandchildren Tracy (Josh) Buck, Travis & Jamison Thorwald, Rob (Beth) Blackorbay, Cory (Sara Braaten) Simonson, Gunnar and Kyle Simonson, Ruby Thompson, Ella and Henrik Thomson; great grandchildren Gabriella and Jordan Buck, Matthew Braaten, Charlie and Vera Simonson, and Maverick Blackorbay; nieces, nephews and cousins. She was preceded in death by her husband, Leroy, sister Margaret Schmaltz and nephew Daniel Hesselberg. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, May 11, at Roseville Lutheran Church, 1215 Roselawn Ave. W. in Roseville, Minn., with calling hours at 12:00 noon and service at 1:00 p.m. A meal at the church will follow at 2:00 p.m.

Published on April 21, 2019