Virginia M. Grunley

 Jumping onto the pool raft to tip the grandkids, and then scooping them up into a huge hug, resulting in endless giggles from everyone. Connecting with people everywhere she went, whether it was the kind person who fixed her car at the corner gas station, or the head of a major charity organization. Loving her own family to the moon and back, Virginia Malone Grunley walked with grace on this earth and left us in the same way – with dignity and grace. On February 2, 2020, Ginny Malone Grunley died peacefully at her home in Potomac, Maryland surrounded by her loving family.  Ginny was born on the west side of Cleveland, Ohio on August 9, 1952, into a close-knit family. Ginny met and fell in love with her husband, Ken Grunley during her sophomore year at Kent State.  Ginny graduated from Kent State University in 1974 with a Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Education.  She and Ken were married in Ohio in 1975, and then moved to the Washington DC area, where Ken had grown up, to begin their 44 years of marriage together. Ginny began her career as a nursery schoolteacher and soon thereafter owned and taught at her own school. She was in her natural element around young children – they flocked to her in those early years in the classroom and throughout her life as a mother, grandmother, aunt and coolest neighborhood mom. Her passion for children, her gift for caring, and Ginny’s capacity as a fierce defender for all she loved, made her an amazing Court Appointed Special Advocate, working with foster children in Maryland. Ginny was gifted with an enviable array of artistic talents. From performing on the stage, to painting in her art studio, or knitting warm sweaters and scarves for friends, family and their babies, there was nothing Ginny wouldn’t try. As Ken’s partner in life, Ginny was also his partner in growing the successful family business. She helped with everyday decisions, served for decades as the Secretary of Grunley Construction Corporation, and lit-up the room at company gatherings. More important than nurturing the family business, Ginny and Ken made a beautiful and loving family together. Their children, Adam and Lauren, were Ginny’s greatest joy – and she was theirs. In early years the family escaped together for the sunny Caribbean nearly every winter, where Ginny loved to fish on the sea and lounge on the beach with a great book. Ginny loved hosting family gatherings, whether it was Thanksgiving, a baby shower for one of her many nieces, or a family barbeque out back, by the pool. She was as close to her in-laws and their extended family as if she had been in their hearts and lives from the start. In later years, Ginny and Ken loved taking trips to Europe together. Ginny spent countless hours laughing with girlfriends playing Canasta, and the family favorite, Yahtzee, never got old. A risk taker of sorts, she would fly through the air from a trapeze with the same flair as getting ready for a fabulous evening affair, where she would be the most glamorous person in the room – dancing and laughing the night away. Her children, Adam and Lauren were the true lights of her life – and Ken was her everything. Her grandchildren, Hudson and Blake couldn’t wait to be with “Gam” and they brought joy and laughter into her life daily. She changed the lives of others she loved dearly, especially her nieces and nephews, Andrew, Todd, Noah, Siena, Logan and Gracen. They, along with many other family members and friends who love her so, will hear Ginny’s laughter and see her shining, bright eyes every day, as Ken, Lauren, and Adam (Aimee) continue to keep her close in their hearts.
Funeral services will be held on Thursday, February 6, 2020, 1 p.m. at Washington Hebrew Congregation, Macomb Street, NW, Washington, DC. Interment to immediately follow services at Garden of Remembrance Memorial Park in Clarksburg, Maryland. Shiva will be held at Ginny and Ken’s home on Thursday and Saturday evening from 6 - 9 p.m., with service starting at 7 p.m.
After Ginny’s cancer diagnosis five years ago, she gained a new circle of supporters at Sloan-Kettering and Friends of Cancer Research, to whom we will be forever grateful. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Friends of Cancer Research or Washington Hebrew Congregation. Services entrusted to Sagel Bloomfield Danzansky Goldberg Funeral Care.