Virginia Ann Vogel Wallace

Virginia Ann Vogel Wallace

Virginia was born August 21, 1935 at her grandparents’ home in Morrowville, Kansas, to Richard George and Thelma Irene Waterman Vogel. She grew up in Topeka, graduating from Topeka High School in 1953. Her husband, Douglass Stuart Wallace, also attended THS, where their love of music brought them together: she was the pianist who most often accompanied the musical performances in which Doug sang.

Virginia—“Ann” when she was a child, and later “Gingy” or “Gingy Ann”—majored in Music at the University of Kansas, where Doug, an engineering student, also sang in KU choral groups. They married in June 1955, graduating from KU in 1957. In 1961 Virginia and Doug moved to Topeka, where they raised their children Anne (b. 1956), Todd (b. 1961), and Marc (1971-2013). In 1977 Virginia completed her Master of Music in Piano from KU. After Doug’s death in 1984, Virginia continued to live in the family home until the last few months of her life. She died at Lexington Park Assisted Living on February 5, 2026.

Homemaking and music were the intertwining central tasks of Virginia’s life. She took quiet pride in keeping a comfortable, organized, relaxed home for Doug and their children. Her greatest pleasure lay in fostering the children’s individuality and freedom of thought, the qualities she and Doug agreed were essential for their development. Virginia joined in their enthusiasms for history, horseback riding, theoretical mathematics, science fiction—whatever seemed to stimulate their minds and hearts. Her grandchildren brought new joys, as she cheered them on toward their own goals.

Virginia’s house was full of music. Her musical partnership with Doug continued through their married life as they prepared for community and church performances. Virginia taught piano in her home studio, mostly to the school-age children with whom she loved to work, from 1957-2020. She also taught piano at Washburn University for more than 50 years, and served as accompanist for many voice and instrumental students, faculty, and musical performances at Washburn.

Virginia’s many community involvements included: First Methodist Church, as Assistant Organist and as volunteer in the Children’s Library; Topeka Civic Chorus, Topeka Civic Symphony, and Topeka Festival Singers as rehearsal accompanist and performer; Kansas Music Teachers Association and Piano Guild; Head Start and public school reading programs as a volunteer teacher. But she always returned to her own backyard, where she loved gardening, watching the birds at her many feeders, and enjoying the rabbits, butterflies, and occasional fox or possum who came to visit her lawn.

Virginia is survived by daughter Anne Wallace and partner Antony Harrison, son Todd Wallace and spouse Kim Carpenter Wallace, and her grandchildren and great-grandchildren: granddaughter Sarah Wallace Richert and spouse Chad Richert, with their children Christopher and Collin; granddaughter Elizabeth Wallace; and grandson Andrew Wallace and spouse Bergen Blackwell Wallace. Virginia’s brother R. Jim Vogel and his family also survive her: spouse Carol Lyon Vogel, son and daughter-in-law Michael and Melissa Vogel, and their children Logan and Caroline.

A memorial gathering will be planned for early summer. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Kansas Public Radio, or to the Children’s Library at First United Methodist Church.