Sister Virginia Boos was born on March 15, 1930 in Ryderwood, Washington to John Boos and Veronica Bellish and was named Mary Margaret. Her only sibling, James, was two years older. She was baptized and raised Catholic. She joined the Sisters of St. Francis in 1948 after graduating from St. Mary’s Academy in Winlock, Washington where she was taught by the Franciscan Sisters. Entering the novitiate in Sierra Madre, California, she professed first vows in August of 1951 and Perpetual Vows on August 17, 1954.
Her early years of ministry were as a teacher, mostly in grammar schools in Altadena and Los Angeles, California and Seattle, Washington.
In 1967 she became the first principal of the new St. Simon and Jude Grammar School in Huntington Beach, California. She was principal of Holy Family School in Seattle from 1972 to 1977. Moving to California in 1979 she became principal of St. Joseph’s School in Mountain View.
From 1989 to 2000 she was an Administrative Assistant at Coherent Laser Group in Santa Clara. Then she served as Registrar at St. Francis High School for ten years until she ministered as a volunteer cuddling at-risk babies in the NICU of O’Connor Hospital in San Jose. Moving to Marian Convent in Santa Maria in 2014, she continued that same ministry for a few years at Marian Regional Medical Center. She died peacefully surrounded by the Sisters of St. Francis on Saturday, February 14, 2026 at the age of 95.
Sister Virginia loved children, particularly babies and her face would light up with joy when she saw them. She truly followed Jesus’ words “Let the children” come to me.
She is survived by her niece, Andrea Morrison of Pennsylvania, two nephews, Michael and Derek and a brother-in-law, John Sirmon of Maryland.
An evening vigil service will be held on Friday, February 20 at 6 pm in the Marian Convent main chapel. Mass of the Resurrection will be on Saturday, February 21 at 10:15 am at the same location. Interment will be at Santa Maria Cemetery.
To honor her life, donations should go to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Marian Regional Medical Center.
