Virginia "Billie" Morse Minisci
Virginia "Billie" Morse Minisci of Wallingford, formerly of Swarthmore, passed away on March 8. She was 91.
Billie was the youngest of the three Morse girls, who all attended Swarthmore High School. After graduating from high school in 1946, Billie went on to attend the University of Maryland, where she met her first husband and the father of her four children.
Billie had an adventurous heart which led her to travel to many far-away countries, including Bhutan, Africa, China, Greece, Turkey, Russia, and much of Europe. She took joy in reading about several countries she was unable to visit. She was inquisitive in every way, and very much engaged in politics. She was also a voracious reader, often reading two books at a time, not to mention luxuriating over the Sunday New York Times.
Beyond her traveling and reading, Billie engaged in numerous other activities. In the 1960s, Billie and her sister Bettsy gathered support and signatures for a petition to maintain the first open park in Swarthmore, that came to be called Little Crum Creek Park. She held prime seats for the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra for decades. She carried on a family tradition of growing plants, and never missed a tomato-plant growing season on her deck at her retirement community. Her sun-drenched window sills allowed her to grow beautifully colored orchids year round.
Billie had a very competitive nature. Despite only taking up golf relatively late in life, she still managed to score a hole-in-one. For years, Billie was a very active bridge player, making sure that she joined challenging players — most recently at the Dew Drop Inn in Swarthmore, and at the Plush Mills Retirement Community,where she lived. Billie served as a volunteer with Meals on Wheels, and most recently had been helping a young child learn to read at the Chester Charter Scholars Academy (formerly Chester Charter School for the Arts).
The family would like to thank the loving staff at the Plush Mills Senior Living Community, where Billie lived for nearly 13 years, as well as Riddle Hospital TCC Unit, Main Line Hospice, and Dr. Robert Roush, for their kind and compassionate care.
Billie was pre-deceased by her husband, Alfred Minisci; her parents, Birney and Edith Morse; her sister, Bonnie Heisler; and her former husband, Wilfred B. Brown.
She was the mother of Susie Brown, Birney Brown (Susie), Bradley Brown, and Becky Hansen Welsh (Dave); adored grandmother of Max Celey (Michelle), Corey Brown, Kelby Brown, Kelsey Hansen Terenick (Dylan), and Kristen Hansen; great-grandmother of Ellen Celey, Jaela Brown, and Nova Kimball; and dear sister of Bettsy McCoubrey, as well as aunt to many nieces and nephews.
A celebration of life will be announced at a later time. Updated service details can be found online.
Please direct any memorial contributions to your charity of choice.
