Virginia Chandler Bush, 97, formerly of Claremont and Lake Sunapee, passed away Saturday morning, July 24, 2010, at Havenwood-Heritage Heights, Concord, N.H.  She was among the sixth generation of the Chandler family to be born in the Newport/Goshen area, descended from Deacon Joseph Chandler and Margaret Gunnison, and the Chandler’s Mill family in Goshen.  Her great grandfather, John Lane Chandler, built the historic “plank houses” that still dot the area today.

 Virginia was born in Newport, NH on January 12, 1913, the third of four children of Frank and Eva Maude (Mathews) Chandler.  After the death of her mother in 1918 the family moved to Southern California, where Ginny attended schools in the Los Angeles area, graduating from Lincoln High School in 1932.  She married Clarence Crone in 1934 and gave birth to two beloved children, Kenneth and Margaret.  When her husband was stricken with polio and confined to an iron lung in 1949, Ginny realized she must now support her young children. She learned to drive and enrolled in the Metropolitan School of Business, gaining employment at Title Insurance & Trust Company where she did office work for 21 years. When Clarence finally passed away in 1959, he was one of the last survivors of the polio epidemic. 

 In 1971 she married Frank W. Bush of Claremont, and returned to her childhood roots in New Hampshire. Together they shared nearly 25 years of blissful, musical happiness.  Ginny had a lovely alto voice, and Frank, a professional musician and alumnus of the Stevens High School band, had given music instruction to not just the children of Claremont, but in schools across western New Hampshire and Vermont.  His Bush Music Center was a hub of the community, and he enjoyed performing regularly with his own band, the Yacht Club Orchestra, and at other band concerts and events. Their summer home on Lake Sunapee was always overflowing with grandchildren and friends.  Ginny was a member of the South Congregational Church in Newport where she sang in the church choir, and where she was baptized on Children's Day in 1913. She was a member of the Claremont Historical Society and Ladies Union Aid.  A nature lover and enthusiastic gardener, Ginny planted many dahlias, zinnias and other flowering plants wherever she lived.

 When her beloved husband Frank lost his fight with cancer on May 11, 1996 in Florida, Ginny moved to Walnut Creek, California to be close to her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.  But the pull of New Hampshire, its lifestyle and people were too strong.  She eventually returned and reunited with many old friends and relatives.  She became especially important in the lives of her niece Judith Chandler of Durham NH as well as Noah, Sarah and Caitlin Chandler, to whom "Aunt Gin" became a loving surrogate grandmother. 

 Throughout her life, her deep, loving faith in Christ has been her anchor through adversity and her wings in joy.  Virginia is survived by her son Kenneth (and Carole) Crone of Walnut Creek, CA; daughter Peggy (and Bob) Mariger of Kenmore, WA; stepson William (and Jayne) Bush of Sebastian, FL, stepdaughter Mary (and John) Williams of Vero Beach, FL; many grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces and nephews.  She was predeceased by her siblings Robert Chandler, Eleanor Freitas, and Richard Chandler, and her stepson Richard W. Bush. 

 Memorial contributions may be made in lieu of flowers to the Stevens High School Music Fund.  A memorial service will be held at the South Congregational Church in Newport, Wednesday, August 25 at 11a.m.   Her ashes will be interred at Maple Street Cemetery beside her mother in Newport.