Virginia Knoke ¹

Virginia Knoke Hitch, of Jacksonville, went to join her maker on Saturday, June 15, 2019 at the age of 87. Virginia was born on March 8, 1932 to the late Agnes Johnson and George W. Knoke in Kansas City, Missouri. She is survived by her husband of 65 years, Ltc. Robert H Hitch, US Army retired, of the home; two sons, Robert T. Hitch of Surf City and George W. (Bill) Hitch of Jacksonville. She is also survived by 2 grandsons, Robert-James and Nicholas J. Hitch of Geraldton, Western Australia. She is further survived by 2 sister in laws, Rusty Hitch of Jacksonville and Sylvia Burke of Charlotte. Finally, she is survived by numerous nieces and nephews, Maurie Lachapelle of Jacksonville, Ken Updegrave and wife Barbara of Raleigh, Vicky Murjuia of Palm Desert, CA , Wayne B. Ennett of Jacksonville, Lynn Flores and husband Ponch of Shady Side, MD, Matt Hitch of Topsail Beach and girlfriend Tina, Cheryl Burleson-Davis of Charlotte, Allsion Cline and husband Rudy of Ocean Shore, WA. There are several great nieces and nephews.

An extended thank you to her niece, Maurie Lachapelle who was a lifesaver in providing moral and physical care for the last 3 years of her life. She was always there for Virginia and Robert in meeting her every need.

Virginia and her family moved at an early age for Kansas City, Mo to Virginia in 1939. Her father ultimately found employment at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard until he transferred to Camp Davis, NC, where he worked construction. When Camp Davis became a holding area for German POW's during WWII, her father being the son of a German immigrates spoke fluent German. Therefore, he became the Chief Interpreter/Translator for the local command until the wars end and the release of the POW's. He continued to work at Camp Davis until his passing in 1947. Virginia, her mother and sister joined Mr. Knoke when he was able to locate housing in the Folkstone area. Virginia and her sister entered school at Dixon High School where they both graduated. She graduated with honors 1950. They then moved to Jacksonville and Virginia began fulltime employment with Hartsfield Jewelry. Virginia met her future husband in 1952 and was married on June 6, 1954. She began her Civil Service Career in 1955 which lasted until she resigned, just prior the birth of her son, Robert in December 1957 at which time she became a fulltime mother and homemaker. In August of 1959 she gave birth to her second son George(Bill).

During her 65 years of marriage, Virginia, like many military housewives, had to don the hat of both Mother and Father due to the assignments of their spouses, but they always did what they needed to do. Her husband was deployed to Vietnam in 1967 where he was wounded in 1968. Shortly thereafter her oldest son Robert was burned over 30% of his body. He was in the ICU burn unit at the Naval Hospital for over 6 months. Later that year, her husband was shot again and nearly lost his arm and life.

During the tenure in the Army, Virginia and the children saw numerous assignments stateside and overseas with a 3+ year tour in Germany. Virginia was an active member as a Red Cross Aid with the local military command. She joined her husband in 1978 as he was a military advisor to the Saudi Military Land Forces. His final assignment was US Army Headquarters Forscom at Ft McPherson in Atlanta from which he retired in 1984.

Following retirement we placed our furniture in storage and began a yearlong worldly travel. We then returned to our home in Savannah Ga and began our task of home and yard overhaul. After 6 years we sold our house and placed our furniture in storage and hit the road in our 34 RV trailer, which became our home for the next five years. We didn't hit all 50 states, but came close to hitting all. Seeing this great country was wonderful, but the friendships that were developed far exceeded that. Our greatest adventure was the friendships that were established from a small group in Key West and continued grow year after year. This group started out with about 15/20 couples in 1992 and by 1997 it has grown to over 500 couples.

Virginia had an array of hobbies. She was an avid book reader from sun up to sundown. When she wasn't reading she was taking on another cross stich project. The examples can be seen at home and many friends and families homes. She enjoyed her crafts. Every morning, don't you dare touch the cross word puzzle and she laid claim to them. There was never a time that she didn't have a crossword puzzle lying around.

The funeral service will be held at 1:00 pm on Wednesday, June 19, 2019 at Jones Funeral Home Chapel, 303 Chaney Ave, Jacksonville. The family will receive friends 1 ½ hours prior to the 1:00pm service with burial to follow at Coastal Carolina State Veterans Cemetery. Following the service, friends and family are invited to the home of Bill Hitch at 706 Page Drive. In lieu of flowers, donation may be made to the local DAV or the Boys & Girls Home PO Box 27 Lake Waccamaw, NC 28450 or your favorite charity. Ltc. Hitch and family would like to thank the US Naval Medical Center, Camp Lejeune, also Dr. Ruth Guyer and her medical staff for the exemplary service to Virginia.

Virginia married LTC Robert Hemby Hitch, son of William Durand Hitch and Beulah Hemby. (LTC Robert Hemby Hitch was born on 11 Feb 1932 in Onslow Co., NC ^{2 3} and died after 2019.)