July 3,1945 – January 22, 2021
Virginia Jo Mendoza O’Neil, 75, of Ventura, California, passed away on January 22, 2021, at home with her family. Virginia was our beloved matriarch, a trailblazing businesswoman, philanthropist and supporter of education, music and the arts. Virginia was born in Los Angeles, California to John Ramirez Mendoza, Jr. and Adela Sais Mendoza. She graduated from Sacred Heart High School in 1963 where she was active in academics and student government. Virginia attended Immaculate Heart College in Los Angeles where she served as president of her sorority and earned a B.A. in History and soon thereafter, her teaching credential.
Virginia met Tim, the love of her life, at a college dance. They married in 1967. She taught first grade in L.A. Unified before moving to Chicago, Illinois in 1969. They returned to California in 1974 and raised three children, Dylan, Micaela and Marla which she considered her greatest personal achievement. Tim and Virginia started Shamrocks Unlimited, a federal student financial aid business in 1977 and two years later moved from Manhattan Beach to Ventura.
Virginia loved family, travel, gardening, eclectic music and fine art. She valued education, was a voracious reader and had a bold and colorful personal style. Virginia was a founding board member of the Ventura Music Festival and the Ventura Education Partnership. Her joie de vivre, beautiful smile, kind and generous heart graced all those lucky enough to have known her. Virginia’s personal motto is a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson: “If one walks in the direction of her dreams, she will find a success unknown in common hours.” Her legacy continues.
Virginia is survived by her husband, Tim, and their children, Dylan O’Neil, Micaela Swafford and Marla Silberfein; daughter-in-law Lauren O’Neil; sons-in-law, Derek Swafford and Seth Silberfein; seven grandchildren, Eleanor, Tessa and Thomas O’Neil, Theo and Camille Swafford, Talia and Sadie Silberfein; and her older sister Theresa M. Jagosz. Words cannot express how much she is missed and loved.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Ventura Education Partnership 805- 641-5000 and The Ventura Music Festival 805-648-3146.