Virginia Packer

Virginia (Ginny) Wiley Packer, of Huckin’s Farm in Bedford MA, passed away on Sunday July 25th.

Ginny was born on April 27th, 1944 in Larchmont NY. Her early years were spent living in New York and New Jersey, while spending summers at her grandparents' beloved farm in Vermont. Ginny attended Elmira College in NY, later she would go on to get an MBA from Northeastern University in Boston.

Ginny moved to Massachusetts in 1965 and started her family. While Massachusetts would be home for the rest of her life (with the exception of a one year sabbatical in England), it was also a home base for a lifelong love of travel. Ginny first lived in Bedford in 1976-79, returning in 1987 for the remainder of her life.

After receiving her MBA, Ginny began a career in publishing, consulting, and communications. It was always clear the people she worked with energized her and fed her passion for work. Ginny’s greatest professional passion was identifying people (often women) that she believed could achieve things that they may not have envisioned. Ginny retired as CEO of Pegasus Communications.

Ginny’s time in Bedford was defined by a commitment to volunteerism. Ginny was an active member of Bedford’s First Parish Church and a passionate member of The Bedford Citizen board. Her work extended beyond Bedford with work on various state boards and councils including the Massachusetts Council of the Arts. Her love of travel also included projects supporting Isreali/Palestianian reconciliation, Romanian orphanages, and beyond. Ginny was generous with her time and loved welcoming many exchange students into her home as well.

Ginny had a love of the arts, particularly opera. Her greatest joys came from spending time with friends and family and of course travelling. Her travels took her to all corners of the world, where she loved not only to see the sights but to sit and learn from the people. Ginny had an infectious energy and loved nothing more than getting to work with others. She would seek out, often inventing, opportunities to plan a celebration or host a party. Working together to bring happiness and joy to others could easily be how her life could be most fully understood.

Ginny’s loving husband, David Packer, of 34 years passed away only 17 days before her passing. She was predeceased by her former husband, Don Wiley. She is survived by her daughter Kris and husband Shep Thorp (Oscar, Mallory and Emma) of Brown’s Point, WA; her son Craig and wife Lauren Wiley (Amelia and Leo) of Redmond, WA; step children David and wife Susie (David III, Tom. Samantha, and Courtney) of Denver, CO; Sarah and husband Willem Wals (Laura) of the Netherlands; and Eric and wife Lisette (Ben, Ryan, Nate, and Eric) of Willmington, MA. She enjoyed spending countless hours with her 14 grandchildren who knew her as Bepa.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Bedford Citizen ( TheBedfordCitizen.org ) or to The Home for Little Wanderers ( TheHome.org ). A shared Celebration of Life service for Ginny and Dave will be held this fall.