Virginia E. Sellke

Virginia Elinor Sellke, 95, passed away on February 14, 2017. She had recently been diagnosed with leukemia. Ginny had been able to remain in her home until the last week of her life with the assistance of Home Instead, Aurora Home Health and Hospice, and her family. Ginny was raised in Chicago by her parents, Joe and Ella Morton, and extended Norwegian immigrant family, in a neighborhood filled with recent immigrants from Poland, Germany, Scandinavia. She had a strong connection to Lake Geneva from childhood due to her parents' "fishing camp" on the South Shore of Lake Como. She and her husband, Howard, later bought a summer home nearby where family and friends enjoyed 50+ years of lakeside living. Ginny married her childhood sweetheart, Howard Sellke, in 1943, just prior to his going overseas with the Army Air Corps for WW II. Upon his return they raised their children, Susan, Sandra, and Ron, and built Howard's tax accounting business together in Mt. Prospect, Ill. They later retired to their lakeside home, wintered in Ft. Meyers Fla., and travelled the world extensively. After her husband's death in 2002, Ginny relocated to town. She found a second love, John Gilbreth, and lived between Lake Geneva and Cape Coral Fla. until John's death in 2011. Ginny will be remembered for her love of dogs, cards and board games, and for her love of eating out. She was sociable and perennially youthful and had many dear friends. She is fondly remembered by her daughters, Susan (Rich Vedvig) of Stoughton, Sandra of Lake Geneva, and daughter-in-law Linda LaBuda, of Evanston, Il. She is dearly remembered as well by her grandchildren, Patrick Waters (Carly) and children Ruby and Anika of Eugene, Oregon; Megan Waters (Pablo Bernal) and son Luca, of Chicago; Caroline Sellke (Scott Laughlin) of San Francisco; and Rob Sellke (Paroma Nandi) of Baltimore. She was sadly pre-deceased by her son, Ron, in 2009. Virginia lived a long life of good health, travel, friends and family. Family will gather in the summer of 2017 for a celebration of her life. Memorials can be given in her name to Lakeland Animal Shelter, State Highway 67, Elkhorn, WI Steinke-Lazarczyk Funeral Home is proudly assisting the Sellke family.