Virginia T. (née Wilhelm) Homewood, 96, died peacefully in her sleep on January 23, 2024. A visitation will be held at St. Ludmila Catholic Church in Cedar Rapids from 9:30 -10:30 a.m. on Saturday, February 3, followed by a Mass at 10:30. A luncheon will be held immediately afterwards at The Hotel at Kirkwood Center at 7725 Kirkwood Boulevard SW.

Virginia was born on a farm in Waucoma, Iowa on August 26, 1927, to Joseph and Catherine (née Wichman) Wilhelm. She realized at an early age that she did not want a life on the farm. She moved to Cedar Rapids in her late teens (during World War II) and married Ray Homewood on June 19, 1947. They had an idyllic marriage until his early death in January of 1977, just shy of 30 years of marriage.

Virginia loved life and didn’t let tough times get her down for long. Never one to want to be pitied, she persevered and built a new life for herself and children. She joined the Catholic Dominick Club where she met others who also lost spouses. She became highly involved with the dances, dinners and served as a secretary to the Dominick Club.

In addition to providing a warm, welcoming, and happy home, she also worked outside the home. She worked for over thirty years at Jefferson High School before retiring in 1997. After retiring, she worked at Iowa grocery stores for Anderson Erickson for a few years. In addition to working, she volunteered for St. Ludmila’s at the Kolach Festival, at Bingo, and even helped to clean the church. Virginia was an active member of St. Ludmila’s Catholic church for 70 years before moving to La Grange, IL to be near her daughter in 2016. She also made many good friendships in her new apartment and participated in many activities including trips to Chicago, restaurants, and of course her favorite, listening to live music.

She was the definition of being a great mother to her son, Jim Homewood and daughter, Lisa (née Homewood) Freund; as well as being a fun and loving grandmother to her five grandchildren.

Virginia is survived by her son Jim (Linda) Homewood and daughter Lisa (Matt) Freund. She also is survived by five grandchildren: Michelle Homewood, Amber Homewood (Mike Nelson), David (Rose) Freund, Jeremy Freund, and Jacob Freund. In addition to family, she is also survived by friend Gloria Johnson, who Virginia considered a second daughter.

She was preceded in death by her husband and parents; by six sisters and two brothers: Betty (Ed) Troxel, Florence (Phil) Blong, Adeline (Arnold) Sobolik, Alma (Leo) Baum, Mary (Ted) Bentley, Dorothy Wilhelm (as a child), Art (Sadie) Wilhelm and Charles Wilhelm.

With her fun-loving attitude and her amazing resilience, she has been admired by her family and friends, and has been a wonderful role model for her children and grandchildren.

Memorial donations may be made in Virginia’s name to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital at stjude.org or to the St. Ludmila’s Building Fund.