Virginia ""Ginna"" Delap

Ginna ended her 30 year struggle with multiple sclerosis on March 24, 2015 at Porter Hospice with her family by her side. A Memorial Service celebrating Ginna's life will be held at Four Mile Historic Park, 715 South Forest Street, Denver 80246 at 3:00 PM on Saturday, April 11, 2015. Ginna was born on March 8, 1944 in Calgary, Alberta, to Shirley E. Sandman and Norval W. Nichols. She attended high school at Kings Hall in Compton, Quebec, and graduated in 1965 from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English plus her teaching certificate. She eventually obtained a Master's Degree in Special Education from the University of Denver in 1974. She taught emotionally challenged children at Fort Logan Mental Health Center and Special Education with the Aurora Public Schools and other school districts in the Denver Metro area. In 1970, while her husband was stationed at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, Ginna started the first integrated elementary special education classes for the Cumberland County School District. The constant physical and emotional losses inflicted by MS never impeded her courageous spirit for life. This was true, even as her physical condition dictated the loss of sight, strength, energy, hearing, and required first plastic braces for her leg, then a walker, then an electric scooter, and finally an electric wheelchair which eventually had to be driven by a caretaker. But there was always humor and a smile. In preparation for a visit from an old tennis chum, Ginna had one of her caretakers paint her toenails to look like tennis balls. Ginna was a prolific writer, eventually dictating to her caretakers after she could no longer use her voice-activated computer programs. She was a contributory author to ""Real Living with MS"" for a number of years. In 1995, her article entitled ""Athlete Uninterrupted"" was awarded the new author's prize by the Denver Women's Press Club for the club's ""Unknown Writers' Contest."" This article was republished in the Denver Post on August 27, 2001. Ginna wrote, but never published books about several people - including one about her mother's life. She also organized pictorial history books of family members' lives - mother, father, husband, children, etc. In 1988, as President of the Manual High School PTA, Ginna organized the ""Bolt Bash"" substance free after prom party. This event remained an annual occurrence for Manual High School into the 1990's. She also created the ""MS Support"" group for similar afflicted women which met at her home for lunch once a month for almost 15 years. Ginna was an athlete... from tennis to skiing to biking. Even when she spent most of her time in a scooter, with other MS people, she enjoyed skiing, white water rafting, rock climbing, horseback riding, repelling and canoeing, among other things through ""Adventures Within"" and the Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center (BOEC). Ginna was blessed with remarkable friends. As her physical condition deteriorated, she skillfully converted these wonderful people from tennis buddies, to muscle stretchers, to bridge partners, and finally to book readers. So even toward the end when she was not able to talk much or her eye sight was off that day, she had plenty of company. She is survived by her husband of 49 years, Herbert A. (Chip) Delap, her two children, E. Ansley (Deke) Young and Anthony N. (Suzanne) Delap, her four grandchildren, Penelope Rose Young, Charles DeWitt Young, Elliott Lee Delap, and Montgomery Nichols Delap, her brother, Donald A. (Vivian) Nichols of Melbourne, Australia, and her sister, Marilyn V. (Bob O'Neal) Nichols of Casper, Wyoming. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in Ginna's name to ""Adventures Within"" c/o Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center (P.O. Box 697, Breckenridge, CO 80424) or Colorado Talking Books, 180 Sheridan Blvd., Denver, CO 80226.