Venice Virginia Margret Giannini Hammerness, died peacefully on Saturday, May 31. She was 93. She had been living in hospice for the last several months with her son, Larry and his wife Sally in Venice, CA. Virginia was the last surviving granddaughter of A.P. Giannini, founder of the Bank of America.
Virginia, a native Californian proud of her heritage, was born May 5, 1932 to Mercedes Anne (Collins) and Lawrence Mario Giannini, in San Mateo, CA. After attending Hollins University in Roanoke, VA, she returned to Northern California to teach at Sonora Elementary School. She cherished her continued connection with many of her former students from that time.
She married Philippe George Hammerness in 1961, after which she devoted herself to raising afamily in San Jose. In addition to her son, Larry (Sally), she is survived by son Philippe (Kelly), grandsons Luke (Nina), William (Cassi) and Tyler (Abigail), as well as four great grandchildren.
She was predeceased by her husband, Philippe, and sister, Anne McWilliams.
Virginia preferred to be on the move and traveled widely.
She particularly enjoyed traveling by car in California, undaunted by distances far from her home in San Jose.
She was a member of the Oregon California Trails Association, a four-wheeling group that drove historic trails up and down the west coast.
Strongly civic minded, she volunteered at the San Jose Historical Museum (now History San Jose) and was a member of The Argonauts Historical Society of San Jose.
They published “A Walk Through the Past: San Jose’s Oak Hill Memorial Park” (1998), a history of California’s oldest secular cemetery. Virginia was on the board of the New Almaden Quicksilver County Park Association and also worked with a group that published their quarterly Quicksilver County Park News. A great lover of animals and nature, she enthusiastically supported charity organizations such as Guide Dogs for the Blind, the Cornell Ornithology Lab, Mono Lake, and the Sierra Club.
Until last year, Virginia served on the board of the A.P.
Giannini Foundation. Established by her grandfather in 1945, the Foundation awards grants to California based post-doctoral fellows in pursuit of innovative research in science and medicine.
Her life will be celebrated at St. Christopher Catholic Church in San Jose, California on the 9th of July.