May 24, 1926 - October 8, 2016Virginia Rose Klockzien, 90, passed away quietly on Saturday, October 8, 2016, at home in Anacortes in the company of friends and loved ones. Virginia was born on May 14, 1926, in Detroit, Michigan. The second of three daughters and one son of Werner and Matilda Mikkola, her Finnish American upbringing instilled in her a fiercely independent spirit. Shortly after the war, that spirit led her away from Detroit and toward the Pacific Northwest. Arriving in Seattle in 1949, Virginia marveled at the resplendent awe of her new home. As a young woman in a new city, Virginia enjoyed meeting new people. Connecting with like minded young adults at the local Lutheran church, she met her future husband. Roots common to the Midwest, Virginia Mikkola of Detroit and Vernon Klockzien of Chicago were married in their new Seattle home. The demands of her husband's aerospace profession took the young couple south to California. Six years of California sunshine and four small children later found the Klockziens missing the mild weather and majestic wonders of the Pacific Northwest. Back in the solace of her favored city, Virginia concentrated on raising her young family. An avid student of history, Virginia became an active member of the Queen Anne Community Council and the Queen Anne Historical Society where she helped to manage the designation and protection of dozens of historic structures, sites, and objects throughout the community. So important was her duty to establish and maintain communication channels within these organizations, Virginia discovered her uncanny ability to articulate the written word. These abilities soon morphed into memberships in writer's clubs across the Puget Sound. Eventually publishing half a dozen books, Virginia retired from her duties in Seattle. Along with Vernon, their retirement years soon filled as integral parts within a network of civic organizations. As the couple eventually settled in Anacortes, they stayed actively involved in the community well into their eighties. As a selfless and tireless volunteer, Virginia will be sorely missed by her loving family and friends. Virginia was preceded in death by her parents, her brother and two sisters, her two daughters, Alice and Bettina and her husband of 63 years, Vernon. Virginia leaves behind a son, George Klockzien, of Nevada and a daughter, Charlene Klockzien, of Seattle. No formal services were held for Virginia. Final interment will take place alongside her husband and their daughters at the Port Blakely Cemetery on Bainbridge Island.Arrangements are in the care of Evans Funeral Chapel & Crematory Inc., of Anacortes, WA & the San Juan Islands. To share a memory of Virginia please visit www.evanschapel.com and sign the online guest register.