Denham

Virginia “Ginger” Lillian Denham (née Strumpen), of Roxborough, Philadelphia, died suddenly on Friday, November 29, 2024, while traveling home with family from a joyful Thanksgiving celebration. She was 76 years old.

Ginger was born on June 7, 1948, in the Logan neighborhood of Philadelphia to Ethel (Paul) and Albert Strumpen. She is survived by her loving husband of 56 years Robert Denham, sons Daniel and Michael, daughter-in-law Sarah Sweeney-Denham, and grandchildren Mambs and Jack Denham, her sister Marjorie (Eddie) Steingraber, nieces Terry (Joe) Kennedy and Mariann McCunney, and nephews Ted (Paula) Steingraber and Chris (Amy Belsky) Hewitt. She was predeceased by her sister Mary Griffiths and parents Ethel and Albert Strumpen.

Ginger devoted her life to caring for her family and creating beauty through her artwork and remarkable thriving gardens. She read voraciously, favoring history and fiction. Ginger did extensive genealogical research long before the internet made it easy, and was proud to have written and published a family history “Our Family Tree: A Family History” in 2018.

Ginger loved big adventures, such as traveling in Europe or throughout the US in their Winnebago, as much as she loved small moments of joy, spending time with family and friends. She loved to tell stories of “happy days”: her childhood, her parents, her sisters, her cousins, aunts and uncles, raising Danny and Mike, and the Philadelphia neighborhoods she called home.

A viewing will be held at Fitzpatrick Funeral Home, 425 Lyceum Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19128 on Friday, December 6 at 9:30 am, followed by a funeral service at 11:00 am, and burial at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.

Ginger brought a joie de vivre to all that she did. She loved to set off without an itinerary to enjoy whatever came her way. We can all hope to have that same attitude in our lives in Ginger’s memory.