Virginia (O’Neill) Gardner Brookshire died Friday evening at the Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital at the age of 81 following a short illness.
Born and raised in Hollister, she moved to Cupertino in 1947 where she lived until she returned to Hollister in 1990.
She graduated from O’Connor School of Nursing and became a Registered Nurse with O’Connor Hospital in San Jose for 38 years until her retirement.
She is survived by her husband, Bob Brookshire of Hollister; son Larry Gardner, wife, Eva, of San Francisco; granddaughters, Elaine and Irene Gardner both of San Francisco; brother of Gene O’Neill, wife Gerri, of Hollister; and the late Billy O’Neill; nieces Ellen O’Neill of Florida, Gwynn Renfrow, husband, Tim, of Hollister; and Joyce Davidson, husband, Claude, of Hollister. She is also survived by her very close friends, Patsy O’Donnell, Ann and Urban Duarte and Kay Clark.
A funeral Mass will be offered on Tuesday, July 27th, at 10 a.m. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Burial and private graveside services will follow at Santa Clara Mission Cemetery. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Grunnagle-Ament-Nelson Funeral Home.
