Virginia "Ginny" F. Knapke

Virginia F. “Ginny” Knapke, age 91, of Minster, Ohio, died on April 23, 2025, at Elmwood Assisted Living of New Bremen.  She was born on May 2, 1933, in St. Henry, Ohio, to the late Frank and Christine (Braun) Koesters.  On August 10, 1957, she married Robert H. Knapke who survives.  She is survived by children Kristine (Steven) Niekamp, Minster; Douglas (Doris) Knapke, New Bremen; Angela (Theodore) Grieshop, Spartanburg, SC; Mark Knapke, Dayton; 16 grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren, and a sister, Shirley (Norbert) Tangeman, Chickasaw.

Virginia was preceded in death by siblings Francella (Joseph) Fiely, Harold (Marcella) Koesters, Kathryn (Luke/Butch) Griesdorn, Frank Koesters, Jr., infant sisters Marie and Ruth, in-laws Armella (Walter) Rawers, Olive (Clem) Miller, Norbert (Katherine) Knapke, Leo (Rita) Knapke, Agnes (Cletus) Hemmelgarn, Hilda (Linus) Brunswick, Matilda (Roman) Elking, Mary Ann (Paul) Klosterman, Florentine (Arthur) Moeller, and Paul Knapke.

Virginia was a member of St. Augustine Catholic Church, Minster, and the Mission Commission.  She was a 1951 graduate of Coldwater High School and in 1954 earned her Registered Nursing license from Good Samaritan Hospital School of Nursing.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, April 28, 2025, at St. Augustine Catholic Church, with burial to follow in St. Augustine Cemetery.  Family and friends may call from 2 to 6 p.m. on Sunday, April 27, and 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. on Monday, April 28, at Hogenkamp Funeral Home in Minster.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the St. Augustine Preserve Our Steeples fund or to the Maria Stein Shrine of the Holy Relics.

Virginia’s family would like to thank the staff of Elmwood Assisted Living of New Bremen and Grand Lake Hospice for the special care they provided for her.

Condolences may be left at www.hogenkampfh.com.