Virginia L. Sweetser was born in Berlin, VT in 1981, to Susan and Gene Sweetser.  She was raised in Worcester and Essex, VT.  She was a 1999, graduate of Essex High School and the National Sports Academy in Lake Placid, NY.  She was the fiercest of hockey players, skating every day in the Herb Brooks Olympic Arena.  She served as a Legislative Page in the Vermont Legislature and was invited to attend Girls' State.  She attended the University of Vermont and St. Michael's College before transferring to UMKC where she received her BA and then her Masters in Social Work.  She was also a graduate of the Police Academy.   As a LCSW in MO and KS, she worked with sexual assault victims and children. She was a mentor and counselor to many.  She volunteered thousands of hours at Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault while in college and then joined them professionally as a counselor after earning her degree.  She also taught MSW students at the University of Missouri–KC.  Virginia specialized in sand tray therapy and wrote her Master's Thesis on it.

Ginny was also a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, having served with the 443 ^rd Transportation Co., Fort Riley and deployed to Iraq, stationed in Tikrit at FOB Speicher.  Sgt. Ginny as she was known, or "Sweets", drove the HETs for the Army and travelled in or led many convoys in Iraq during the early phase of OIF 2003 – 2005.  She witnessed war and it rarely left her.  She was later a member of the Vermont Army National Guard Headquarters 1/86 ^th FA.

Ginny built many dollhouses, most of which she donated to needy children.  She loved her Jeep and her off-roading friends.  She recently took up sky-diving and found serenity in that.  And, she was continuing the Vermont Sweetser family tradition as a basket-making apprentice with her dad.  She was a world traveler, having visited many global locations with her family and with her friends.  She was proud of the internship she secured at Mediamark Research that took her to NYC for six months as a St. Mike's student and provided her with a little apartment in Gramercy Park.  She skied on the Smuggler's Notch Racing Team and then became a snowboarder.  She loved to dance, hike, was an accomplished equestrian and tennis player.  She had 17,000 followers on TikTok.

Virginia was a friend to many and a fighter for those without a voice.  She stood up for her beliefs and helped those who did not have the strength to stand.  As a child, she would spend hours on the phone with crime victims, just listening to them when they phoned her parents' home.

She loved her family and friends beyond words.  She helped her Pop-pop when he battled cancer and helped her Nunu when that battle was lost.  She was the best sister that Francesca and Caitria Sands could ask for– surprising them at their Rugby games and graduations.  She was their best friend.  She loved critters.

On December 11, 2020, heaven gained an angel when our beautiful Ginny lost her battle with PTSD.

Leaving to remember her beautiful soul are her parents, Susan and Gene, her beloved Nunu Crete Williams; sisters, Francesca Sands and Caitria Sands and Analei Campbell; her former spouse, Monica Wheeler; in-laws, Joni and Mike Wheeler; soul sister, Nicole Murray; stepfather, David Sands; aunt Cathy and uncle Bob Lahm, uncle Bobby Williams, and many cousins including, Bill and Kelli Ogden and Michael Ogden, her four cats and many more family, friends, mentees and people whose lives she made a difference in.

Memorial services were held Friday, December 18, 2020, at E. S. Eley & Sons Funeral Chapel .  In lieu of flowers, the family request you consider a contribution to a scholarship fund for women veterans that will be established in Ginny's name.  Contributions may be made online at: https://everloved.com/life-of/ virginia-sweetser/ .  A Celebration of Life will occur in Ginny's home state of VT in the spring.

Thoughtful care and services provided by E. S. ELEY & SONS FUNERAL CHAPEL.