Bessie "Virginia" Hill Farrens

Bessie “Virginia” Hill Farrens was born September 27, 1931, in Oregon City, Oregon, to Dewey G. and Winnie H. (Eadon) Hill. Even as a child, Virginia was no stranger to hard work. At the young age of 8, she was already working as a full-time caregiver for an 80-year-old lady. Then at age 12, Virginia went to a farm where she worked “terribly hard” until she was 17 and graduated from Trinity Lutheran School in Oregon City in 1949.Virginia married that same year and welcomed her first daughter in 1950. She survived several bad marriages and had three more girls and two boys. Virginia worked as a waitress for a time and really enjoyed it. In 1972, she was hired as clerical help for the Department of Human Resources in Portland. Working with seniors and people with mental disabilities was rewarding work and she remained working for the department in both Portland and Salem for 24 years. She was a very hard worker and carried that through the rest of her life, passing that work ethic on to her children. Virginia married a final time to James O. Farrens on September 9, 2012, in Salem, Oregon. James was a good man and the two were very happy together until he passed about three years ago.Virginia was an accomplished piano player and lover of music. She never learned to read music and played everything by ear. Virginia loved the Lord and attended church regularly and was known to take others with her that didn’t have a way to get there on their own. She was a people person and loved to socialize, even with people she didn’t know. Often when she was out with family, she would see someone across the room and make her way over just to introduce herself and give the person a sweet compliment about liking their shirt or something. She always greeted everyone with a smile and kind words. Virginia was a true caregiver at heart and was always looking for ways to help others or just bless them with her words. On June 28, 2019, Virginia entered into eternal rest with her Lord.Virginia was preceded in death by her parents and her daughter Joyce Long. She will be dearly missed by the family she leaves behind including her children Della Rockwood, Shirley Inman, Ward (Kim) Bail, Dana (Andrea) Gilman, and Judy (Bob) Byers; brother Ward (Margaret) Hill; and numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren. A Celebration of Life will be held on Wednesday, July 3, at 11 a.m., at the First Christian Church in Salem.