Virginia "Jinny" Clara (Dickinson) Belanger

Virginia “Jinny” Clara Belanger of Waterville, ME passed away peacefully on September 13, 2021 at the Hillcrest Convalescent Center in Durham, NC. Jinny was born on April 29th, 1930 in Skowhegan, ME and was the daughter of the late Roger Lee Dickinson and Dora Day Dickinson.  She grew up and attended schools in Fairfield, ME. She married the love of her life and husband of 63 years, the late Donald Wilfred Belanger, longtime Waterville resident on May 1, 1954, after he returned from Army deployment during the Korean War. 

Jinny was very much about her family. She selflessly gave up extended periods of her time at home to take care of her mother, father, sisters, children, and friends during serious illnesses. She had deeply close friendships with her sisters and their husbands who have all pre-deceased her: Melda and Leo Ouellette, Dorothea and Phillip Porter, and Muriel and John Shepherd. Jinny adored her three boys and their spouses: Richard Belanger and Eileen of Chapel Hill, NC, David Belanger who is now deceased, and Jeffrey Belanger and Pamela of Augusta, ME. Jinny was a doting grandmother to: Adam and Stefanie Belanger; Kathrin Belanger and spouse Eric Grimes; and Nicolyn and Justin Brown; as well as great grandson Christopher; and great granddaughters Chloe and Daniella. She leaves behind many nephews and nieces who loved her and she them, including Kenneth Chapman, Joseph Shepherd and James Porter.

Jinny touched the lives of countless friends and family of friends over the years. The DeRoch and Soule families; the breakfast crowd at Eric’s Restaurant; and so many others around her Abbott Street home who were much more than neighbors; they were extended family. 

Jinny was well known as owner and operator of Jinny’s Variety store in Waterville.  She loved this work interacting with people and made many lasting friendships throughout her years there. She held many other jobs and was always a homemaker to her family. She also enjoyed bowling, golf and letter writing. 
Recently Jinny has resided at Chatham Ridge Assisted Living in Chapel Hill, NC where she continued to make new friends among her fellow residents and staff alike.  We would like to thank the Chatham Ridge staff for their excellent care, particularly during these pandemic times.

The family plans to hold an internment service in Fairfield Center, ME in the spring at Friend Cemetery which she, Don and Muriel mowed and meticulously maintained for years. In lieu of flowers the family suggests donations in Jinny’s memory to the hospice program that took such great care of her husband. The address is Medical Foundation of North Carolina, 880 Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, Chapel Hill, NC 27514.