Grandmother, pastor, traveler, artist

Virginia Kennedy Bergfalk died peacefully on April 17 due to complications from diverticulitis and pneumonia infections. In the five weeks preceding her death, she was blessed to have been visited by all three of her daughters and one granddaughter, who all assisted in her care during this challenging time.

She is survived by her daughters Carrie Bergfalk, Thandi Bergfalk (Steve Croll), Sarah Moritz (Tim); nephew Richard Blair (Karen Myers); and grandchildren Linnea Tuggle (Ryan), Ben and Elizabeth Croll, and Hunter and Alexis Moritz.

She was predeceased by her parents, David and Ruth Kennedy; sister Janet Blair (Don); and Robert Bergfalk.

Virginia was born July 21, 1934 to David and Ruth (Madden) Kennedy and grew up in Rahway, New Jersey. She graduated from Rahway High School and Cedar Crest College in Allentown, Pennsylvania, followed by a year at Union Theological Seminar in New York City. There she met and married Robert (Bob) Bergfalk in 1957. They moved to South Africa, where they were congregational missionaries from 1958-1969, working primarily among Zulu-speaking people.

Upon her return to the States, she coordinated several women’s centers and worked as a crisis intervention and job counselor in Rhode Island before returning to Union Theological Seminary to complete her pastoral training, graduating in 1981.

Her first pastorate was a new UCC church start in Maple Grove, Minnesota. She and Bob divorced in 1985 and remained good friends. She then served several churches in the Bay Area of California, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Minnesota again before retiring from the ministry in 1997 after serving as a pastor in Oracle, Arizona. She moved to Tucson, Arizona, where she continued her calling as a campus minister, wedding officiant, and active member of St. Francis in the Foothills Church.

She retired to Pilgrim Place in Claremont in 2009. “This amazing interdenominational community of retired ministers and missionaries nurtured her mind, body, and spirit for 16 years,” her family shared. There she founded groups on women and aging and women’s spirituality. She was a member of an international women’s feminist movement called The Grail, women’s moon circle, women’s support group, and several book clubs, as well as serving as spiritual director and patient advocate for other Pilgrims. She also continued her love for dancing and creating art with clay, stone, paint and words.

Throughout her life she loved seeing live theater, music, cinema, and museums. She loved to garden, play tennis, ice skate, roller blade, hike, sail, snorkel and ride her boogie board in the waves. “She had an insatiable curiosity about our world,” her family added. In her early years she traveled to Europe, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and throughout southern Africa. In her later years she went to India, Afghanistan, Jordan, Egypt, Peru, China, Tibet, Mexico, and Japan. She regularly visited her beloved Hawaii and family around the country.

Her memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday, June 7 in Decker Hall at Pilgrim Place in  Claremont, with reception afterwards in Abernathy Hall. “To honor Virginia’s vibrant spirit, please wear bright clothing. Her favorite colors were purple and turquoise,” her family said.