City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremation
Obituary
Virginia Ann Nicholson
Wake Forest, North Carolina
Age 86.
Died 01/06/2026.
Known affectionately as “Ginnie,” she was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend to many.
A true farm girl, she grew up working on her father’s dairy farm and even narrowly escaped a raging bull, though not the barbed wire, which left its permanent, but hidden, mark. Family life revolved around faith, family, and farm.
Ginnie enjoyed gardening, sewing, baking, drawing, playing the piano, and singing. She was known for her beautiful voice, even selected for the Maryland State Chorus, and sang with her sisters in church many, many Sundays.
Ginnie lived a life rooted in family, kindness, and quiet strength. She married her husband, Wilbur Nicholson, Jr., at age 18, and they enjoyed more than 67 years of marriage together. Ginnie and Wil made their home in several states over the years (Indiana, Illinois, New Jersey, and lastly, North Carolina), forming lasting friendships and memories wherever they lived. Their love grew to include four daughters - Rhonda, Jill, Valerie, and Tanya. As a mother, she was gentle, loving, patient, and selfless. Her family was always her greatest joy, and she gave generously of herself in raising and supporting them. Ginnie was later blessed to have eight grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren with another on the way, to whom she was affectionately known as "Granny." With her life an outpouring of endearing love, she imparted values that will remain with all of them for life.
Even while raising children, Ginnie worked in various capacities, including her job as a secretary in downtown Chicago, running a private daycare in their home, a human resources employee at a hospital, and achieved top-tier recognition in consumer-direct art sales, earning many trips abroad for her and Wil during their marriage. Ginnie also always enjoyed all the summer family time in Ocean City, NJ, and the great memories she and Wil made in their later years in Cape Coral, FL.
Ginnie will be remembered for her kind heart, warm smile, gracious spirit, and the countless ways she gave of herself to others. From the beginning of her life to her final breath, she offered a quiet strength that consistently left a lasting impression on those around her.
Ginnie's steady, compassionate presence was truly a rare treasure in the world. And her life and legacy will forever be cherished by her beloved family and friends.
She leaves behind a loving family, including her husband, Wilbur Nicholson, Jr., her daughters, Rhonda (Kevin) Stees, Jill (Tom) Geoghan, Valerie (Peter, dec.) Handleton, and Tanya (Rob) Zelem; her grandchildren Ryan (Mary) Stees, Brandon Stees, Anna Stees, Abigail (Trent) Bouffard, Tommy (Anna) Geoghan, Andrew (Josie) Geoghan, Ben (Lizzy) Geoghan, and Noah Zelem; and her great-grandchildren Leah, Joanna, Simone, Silas, Cameron, Connor, Ellie, Isaac, and another great-grandchild on the way.
A visitation will be held at 12:00 on Saturday, January 10 at Wake Forest Baptist Church, followed by a Celebration of Life Service at 1:00.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Faith United Methodist Church in Orland Park, Illinois. (15101 S 80th Ave, Orland Park, IL 60462)
For additional information or for service details, please reach out to the family directly.
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City of Oaks Cremation and Funeral Home is a full-service funeral home in Raleigh, serving all of North Carolina and beyond. We provide an alternative to costly funeral homes and every day we help families in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and all over North Carolina make simple, affordable funeral arrangements.
Simply having to reach out to a funeral home can feel overwhelming. Our goal is to simplify the entire funeral home experience and make the process as easy as possible. We hope to eliminate any unnecessary surprises by publishing our total cost and the services we provide directly on our website. All of our obituaries are provided free of charge as a way to help families celebrate and commemorate the lives of their loved ones.
Our Promise
Apples to Apples
Just like all other licensed funeral homes in North Carolina, City of Oaks Cremation, LLC is regulated by the NC Board of Funeral Service.
The same laws that apply to the big corporate funeral homes also apply to the modest independently owned firms like ours. All crematories in North Carolina, regardless of who owns them, are inspected annually by the state and must adhere to the same rules and laws.
Genuine Care
We're committed to providing families within our community unsurpassed service before, during and after the time of loss.
Our staff will provide clear communication to your family through each step as we move forward from the original phone call notifying us of a death to the time we deliver the urn back to your family. We will treat your family with the utmost respect, as we honor the wishes of your loved one.
We promise to make this process affordable and as endurable as possible.
State Wide
Our Funeral Home is located in Wake County NC; however, we provide our services to families throughout the entire State.
Unlike other funeral homes, we don't charge an additional mileage fee. Regardless of what county you live in, we can help your family with making simple, affordable funeral arrangements. From Asheville to Wilmington, we're proud to help families statewide.
Our Services
$1196.75
Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. We include everything you need for a simple or direct cremation. Simple, affordable and reliable. We have not changed the cost of our direct cremation service since we opened City of Oaks in 2012.
$2875.66
We offer the option of choosing how you receive your loved ones remains. Selecting our Direct Cremation with Solidified Remains option is a beautiful way to transform cremated remains into 40-60 “stones” that you can hold.
$1917.84
City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation option with onsite visitation. Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. Simple, affordable and reliable.
$1596.75
City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation with a private family viewing. A private family viewing allows up to 10 immediate family members or friends to spend time with a loved one when a public visitation is not preferred.
$2497.50
An immediate burial has the same end result as a traditional burial; however, we have eliminated the extra (sometimes unnecessary) services prior to getting to the cemetery. Not everyone wants an open casket for viewing or a limousine for the family. Despite the term immediate, we can move as fast as you need or as slow as you like. This option simply allows you to save money by eliminating some of the fancy extras at the funeral home.
$6081.48
We offer the same traditional funeral services as the big corporately owned funeral homes in the area; however, we cost about half the amount. You might consider a traditional funeral service if your family is looking for an open casket visitation, a traditional church service or a funeral service in the funeral home's chapel. A traditional funeral service can be altered to fit the needs of your family.
$3033.75
This establishment is one of a select number of funeral homes who meet the criteria for providing green funeral service by the Green Burial Council; a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization working to encourage environmentally sustainability in the field of funeral service. Our Green options allow for a funeral to take place without the use of toxic and non-biodegradable materials/chemicals.
$2640.59
As an alternative to traditional cremation, City of Oaks Funeral Home also offers Aquamation. The Aquamation process, often referred to as alkaline hydrolysis, uses a solution of water and potassium hydroxide to facilitate natural decomposition.