Virginia Helen (Monigle) Long, 80

Newport, R.I.

Virginia Helen (Monigle) Long of Newport, R.I., passed into the next life on May 3, following a long struggle with Parkinson’s Disease. She lived for 80 remarkable years.

Ginny grew up in Millbury, Mass., the oldest daughter of Charles and Helen Monigle, along with her brother, Bill, and her sister, Charlotte. She attended UMass, studying fashion and costume design, but left school to marry the love of her life, Richard Long, in 1960. They raised four children in Portsmouth, R.I., then relocated to Newport in 1984, where Ginny and Dick restored and maintained a beautiful house and garden on Historic Hill.

When Ginny returned to the workforce, she began in receivables at Narragansett Clothing; by the time she left, she was handling their print advertising. She worked for JT’s Ship Chandlery for several years before landing at US Sailing, where she quickly impressed everyone with her writing and organizing skill and her incredible ability to make everyone feel “like her very best friend.” At US Sailing, she served as Training Director. If US Sailing was offering a Sail Training symposium anywhere in the world, Ginny was there, handling all the details. Ginny travelled to Germany, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and all over the U.S.

Additionally, Ginny created a curriculum for the Tall Ships visit in 2007 which was offered to schools throughout Rhode Island and included a kid’s “Tall Ships Passport,” used to get sailors’ autographs and identify ships.

After Ginny left US Sailing, she found work in retirement as a bus tour guide in Newport. Before long, she was training new guides and had re-written the script for the tour. When Parkinson’s disease made it difficult for her to stand on a tour bus, she retired to care for her home and gardens.

Ginny was truly an accomplished woman. She was famous for bringing delicious, beautiful cakes and other baked goods to share at work. She was an expert seamstress, a talented gardener, a skilled cook, a captivating storyteller, and she loved entertaining friends and family in her home. She was always supportive of her children, and her grandchildren adored their Nana whose home had “everything I need.”

Ginny leaves behind her four children – Marcy Latteman, Sarah Brockmann, Jeffrey Long and Joshua Long – her sister, and countless family and friends.