Virginia D. (Ginger) Doran

Virginia D. (Ginger) Doran, age 80, passed away on Thursday November 9, 2018.

Ginger was the daughter of the late Elmer C. and Dorothy (Rouse) Mueller. She was born in Orange, NJ and shortly thereafter, the family moved to Bernardsville, NJ where she was raised.

She was a dedicated wife of 60 years to her husband, John and a loving mother to her three sons, Stephen, Kenneth (Louis) and Michael (Jennifer). Her grandsons, Justin and Logan, would light up her life and she loved them dearly.

After the boys were raised, Ginger worked part-time for an optometrist and enjoyed meeting customers and learning the business. A few years passed and she was hired by a gourmet-cooking store where she very much enjoyed working with many nice salespeople and customers that appreciated cooking and creating new recipes.

As a member of several garden clubs in Wilmington and Avalon, NJ, Ginger would be delighted to win ribbons once in a while, but it was her own creations starting when she was a young girl that made her happy.

Ginger was a member of the original women’s group that began the organization and the first steps toward making something wonderful out of the neglected Rockwood Mansion. In addition, the Brandywine River Museum provided lots of fun making the Critters ornaments for the Christmas trees. While she was doing these and other interesting things, Ginger could be seen zooming around Wilmington in her little two-seat green car that is still in her garage.

In 2002, Ginger had very serious surgery, but with great assistance from her doctors, she survived. However, her body lost a lot of strength and she had many more surgeries over the years for various medical problems. Even so, she would not give in and tried to keep up with all the things in the home she felt she had to do. At the same time, Ginger loved watching the Golden girls and laughing. She even had a sign in her kitchen that says, “LAUGH” – it was one of the things she loved to do the most.

Ginger enjoyed cruises and spending many vacations on the island of Anguilla in the Caribbean, and seeing many of the same people and having a wonderful time.

Our beautiful, vivacious wife, mother and grandmother, has passed away. She fiercely loved all her family, as well as her numerous dogs and cats, squirrels, birds and flowers. Above all, she loved to laugh and to make other people laugh. We will always miss her. We will continue to laugh.