Virginia "Ginny" Rekoske

Virginia “Ginny” Rekoske, age 88, of South Milwaukee, Wisconsin, went to the Arms of her Lord on May 27, 2021. She is preceded in death by her husband Rudolph “Rudy”. Loving mother of Ann Rekoske Orso, Thomas (Mary Eggert) Rekoske, Debra (Robert) Barribeau and Jeffrey (Kristie Abbott) Rekoske. Cherished grandmother of Timarie Orso, Michaela Rekoske Orso, Emily Barribeau, Margaret Barribeau, Clarissa Barribeau, and Calder Rekoske. Further survived by nieces, nephews and friends. Ginny was the daughter of hardworking Slovenian immigrants, Marija “Mary” Hudoklin and Jozef “Joseph” Kralj. She grew up in West Allis with her siblings Stanley “Stan” and Leona “Lee” and graduated from West Allis Central High School. Ginny went on to vocational schools and obtained a certificate as a dental assistant, as well as a myriad of classes and certificates at MATC to keep current in office methods over the decades, up through Excel and Word programs not long before her retirement. The interviewee for her last position commented on her adeptness of current programs, and knew them more thoroughly than her younger counterparts. A curiosity and desire to travel ushered in many adventures. Along with several of her friends, young Ginny traveled west by train to San Francisco, Seattle, and Lake Louise in Banff. On a separate trip she and her friends flew east to New York and Nova Scotia. Later, during road trips with Rudy and the children, she was able to share many of the sights she had seen, and instilled a love of travel in her children and grandchildren. Rudy and Ginny met at a church dance. They were extremely proficient dancers and often cleared the floor with their swing skills. They were married at St. Rita’s Church in West Allis on October 10, 1959, and settled in South Milwaukee, where she lived the rest of her life. Religious life was extremely important to Ginny. She taught religious education (2nd grade) for over three decades at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in South Milwaukee, St. Stephens in Milwaukee, and Nativity of the Lord in Cudahy. After Rudy passed away, her continuing desire to pray for and help others lead her to take the three-year discernment with the Widows of Prayer a religious apostolate of the Catholic Church. Ginny was very involved with the development of the Interfaith Airport Meditation Room at General Mitchell Field. She also volunteered every week at Divine Mercy up until the pandemic began in 2020. Ginny worked as a secretary/bookkeeper at both General Electric in West Allis and AC Delco in Oak Creek. After a few years working hard to take care of her young children at home, she started out in the office at Bucyrus-Erie in South Milwaukee, and was promoted to Audio/Visual Director. Ginny ended her career as an office assistant at Southeastern Wisconsin Products (Campbell’s). Mornings found Ginny brewing a pot of Folgers coffee and settling in with her daily crossword. She maintained a keen sharpness throughout her life. She was always known for stashing a bag of Godiva chocolate, and Campbell’s tomato and rice soup was a favorite lunch. Frozen custard sometimes became her dinner (shhhhhh!), and every March found her drinking Shamrock Shakes. The traditional desserts her mother made in her childhood, Slovenian potica (a slightly sweet yeast bread swirled with finely chopped walnuts) and the apple strudel, dough stretched thin on a floured sheet over the kitchen table, were often lovingly recalled. The very occasional brandy old-fashioned was a treat, and was sampling Slovenian wines in recent weeks at dinner. Her family in Slovenia had/has maintained vineyards on the Hudoklin farm. The family was fortunate to have Ginny’s big, homemade-from-scratch dinners daily while the children were growing up. She loved to make stuffed green peppers, crafted a mean sloppy joe, and made spectacular pie crusts. Rudy’s large, organic-before-organic-was-cool garden was quite prolific, and Ginny canned much of the produce for use during the year. Her mom’s pickle recipe was a favorite, and sorely missed when she stopped making them a few years ago. However, her children schemed to purchase several additional current bushes in order to coax her to make currant jelly every year until recently. We will cherish the stash we have left like it’s gold. With an eye for design, she was quite the smart dresser in her youth, and had definite ideas of her personal style throughout her life, including a bit of bling here and there. After rebuilding her home in 1999, Ginny joyfully and skillfully selected new colors, furniture and accessories to make her home her own. She was often glued to HGTV for ideas. Ginny loved decorating her home for holidays, big and small. Christmas and Easter were highlights of celebration each year. Family was extremely important to Ginny, especially her grandchildren. She was known for her babysitting talent and spiritual guidance. Her other loves included her grand pets and her garden, in which many eggplants, zucchini, and tomatoes were grown. She also loved to grow flowers and plant a big, welcoming display in front of her house annually. Ginny was intelligent, sharp and stubbornly independent until very close to the end of her life. Until recently, she lived by herself, in her own home (with some assistance from family), did her own cleaning, drove her own car, tended to her garden, and led a very active (pre-pandemic) social life. She was quite proud of her independence. Her humor, warmth and love will stay with us always. Services will be held at St. Matthew’s Parish (9303 South Chicago Avenue, Oak Creek) on Tuesday, June 08, 2021. Visitation will be held from 10 am with a Mass of Christian Burial at 11 am. Private burial will take place at a later date at Forest Hill Memorial Park.