Virginia Janette Givens

The sweetest wife and mother any husband or child could ever ask for went home to be with the Lord and Savior Saturday, June 26, 2021.  She was born on June 5 ^th , 1940 to George and Irene Blankenship.  She graduated from Abbeville High School in Abbeville, Alabama in 1958 and moved to Panama City, Florida.  The first of March 1963, she met her future husband, Wayne Givens where they fell in love and were married on October 20, 1963.  She is survived by her husband, Wayne; son, Duane Givens (Tori); daughter, Jenni Stevenson (Billy); grandchildren Lindsay Corbin (Tyler), Allison Christie (Michael), Madison Stevenson (Jonas), Wil Stevenson; one great grandson, Elliot Graves; sisters, Lee Overton and Judy Abercrombie (Jerry); and brothers, John Blankenship (Cathy) and Doug Blankenship (Helen).

She was preceded in death by her parents; brothers, Billy Blankenship, Jimmy Blankenship, Mike Blankenship, and George Blankenship; and her sister, Sarah Daisy

Her heart's desire was to be a school teacher, so with two children and a husband to care for she enrolled at Gulf Coast Community College, where she maintained an A-B grade average before graduating and transferring to the University of West Florida where she again maintained an A-B grade average and graduated with a teacher's certificate that allowed her to teach K-12 ^th grade.  She decided to retire from teaching only six hours short of obtaining her Master's degree.  After her teaching career, she proceeded to sell ladies shoes at Gayfers in the Panama City Mall.  She was there for several years before retiring for good and traveling with her husband and church friends on several trips to Europe.  She also worked in the children's ministry at Hiland Park Baptist Church until her health failed.

Services will be held on Thursday, July 1, 2021 at Wilson's Funeral home at 11:00 am. Interment will follow in the Evergreen Memorial Gardens. Visiting hours will be from 10-11 am one hour before services begin.  Dr. Carl Fondren will be officiating.  The family is requesting in lieu of flowers, please make a donation in the name of Virginia Givens to Hiland Park Baptist Church in care of the children's ministry at 2611 N. Highway 231, Panama City, FL  32405.