Virginia Ann Cobb Joiner
Virginia Ann Cobb Joiner, age 84, passed away March 16, 2016 in her home with her daughter Elizabeth at her bedside. She was born April 13, 1931 in Bedford, Iowa, to Paul Monroe and Eulah E. (Parrish) Cobb. Virginia graduated from Bedford High School in 1949. She relocated to Los Angeles to study nursing, and in 1952 was awarded her RN from St. Vincent’s College of Nursing, followed by a bachelor of science in nursing from Drury University in Springfield, Missouri. Virginia accepted a nursing position with the Arabian American Oil Company in 1955, and moved to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, where she worked first as a maternity nurse and later as a nurse manager. It was on her first trip to Arabia that she met fellow Aramco employee Jasper Lamar Joiner, who was to become her husband of 50 years. Jasper and Virginia (“Ginny”) enjoyed almost 30 of those years in Dhahran, where they raised their children and enjoyed a very happy family life centered around community, beach-going, boating, and water-skiing at Half Moon Bay on the Persian Gulf. She was a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother, friend and neighbor who loved music (she played the piano and sang in the community choir in Dhahran), following world news and the developments of science, knitting and sewing, and hosting sing-alongs and dinner parties. After retirement from Aramco, Jasper and Ginny relocated to Nacogdoches, Texas, where they resided for 28 years. During this time, they endured the loss of their beloved son Giles in a motor vehicle accident, and Virginia’s spinal cord injury leading to paraplegia, navigating these challenges with strength, fortitude, and a deep commitment to one another. Virginia is survived by her daughter Elizabeth and son-in-law David Milem of Austin, Texas, daughter Judith Kramer and grandson Jacob Kramer of Santa Monica, California, granddaughter Grace Milem of Nacogdoches, Texas, and loving nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be held at a later date. Contributions may be made to Heifer International or World Wildlife Fund, Virginia’s favorite charities, or to a charity of your choice.