Virginia Griffith Frank passed away on July 22 at the age of 58.
Frank was born to Edwin (Ned) Lord Griffith and Esther Bullard Griffith on May 23, 1955 in Ross, Calif., and was the youngest sister of Ned, Annie and Constance.
Frank attended Sara Dix Hamlin School in San Francisco in high school, then did a year abroad through Andover/Exeter in France, and completed her senior year at Branson School in Ross. She studied at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts and graduated from University of California Berkeley with a fine arts degree in dance. Over the next 15 years, Frank lived in New York City taking dance classes, performing and living the life of an artist.
Frank met her husband-to-be, David Frank, in 1980 and the couple married in 1983. Their home on Central Park West overlooked the pond at 101st Street and was often filled with friends and musical luminaries. Frank soon returned to school at Hunter College to study Physical Therapy and the Alexander Technique. The couple’s children, Griffith and Rachael, were born there as well.
The Franks moved to Los Angeles in 1992 when David was working on a project involving Virginia’s modern dance idol, Twyla Tharp. They resided in Topanga Canyon, as it reminded Frank of her favorite place, Marin County, and their home was filled with her artwork and music.
Frank was loved by her friends in Topanga and Malibu, where her children graduated from high school. She worked as a physical therapist in Malibu and Santa Monica.
“We will always remember Virginia for her endless love of friends and family, her healing hands and that wonderful free spirit that came through in her dance and art,” Frank’s family wrote. “She will always live in our hearts and we will cherish the time we had with her.”
Frank is preceded in death by her parents and her brother Ned. She is survived by her husband David, and her children, Griff and Rachael; her sisters Annie Burgess and Constance Griffith; numerous sisters- and brothers-in-law, nieces and nephews, as well as grand nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will take place Sunday, August 11, at Temple Kehillat Israel, 16019 Sunset Blvd. in Pacific Palisades, from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. The family will be sitting shiva Aug. 10, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and Aug. 11 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at home, 19860 Horseshoe Dr., in Topanga.
A celebration of life is being planned in Northern California for September.