Virginia E. Macdougal

Virginia Ellen MacDougal was born in LaFarge, WI on July 8, 1933 to Randall and Lydia (Riddle) Field. Virginia graduated from Hillsboro High School in 1951. She married James MacDougal in 1954, and they remained married for over 68 years. On January 26th, 2023 she succumbed to cancer, and passed away peacefully.

Virginia is survived by her daughter Julie of Hastings, MN, son Scott (Jody) of Fox Lake, IL, and son David (Rebeccah) of Minnetonka, MN; grandchildren Christy, Cailin, Erin, Kelly, Lauren and James. She was preceded in death by her husband Jim, daughter Christy, siblings Orville, Kathleen, Randall, Donald, Dorothe (Smith), Jean (Cameron), and many other friends and family.

After marrying Jim, the couple moved to Hillsboro, WI, and later to Prairie du Chien in 1967. Virginia was a creative person, and loved painting and crafting. She was an accomplished painter, preferring oil on canvass to paint landscapes and still lifes. Her crafting skills were formidable, including ceramics, rosemaling, calligraphy, and others. She used fabrics, ribbons, sequins, styrofoam etc to make beautiful Christmas ornaments for her kids and grandkids. Virginia and Jim always had hobbies keeping them busy—bowling, Labrador retriever training, horses, beekeeping, golf.

After Jim retired in 1989, the two of them sold their home and hit the road in a fifth wheel RV. So began a joyful 9-year adventure, crisscrossing the US as full-time RVers. Virginia and Jim then bought a condo in Hastings, MN, and became snowbirds, wintering mostly in Arizona. Her family and friends will miss Virginia’s creative nature, and her curiosity about how complicated things worked. If something broke, she wasn’t afraid to take apart a dishwasher or lawn mower to figure out what was wrong—and to fix it.

Virginia’s immediate family will be gathering in Prairie du Chien in summer 2023 to bury her and Jim’s ashes and commemorate their lives. Further information is available from Starkson Family Life Celebration Chapel, Hastings, MN www.hastingsmnfuneral.com.