HEATHSVILLE—Jinny Lee Estell passed away peacefully on October 31, 2019, at her home, The Folly, in Heathsville, after a heroic fight with breast cancer.
Born on October 27, 1940, to Sidney and Martha Cornell in Cincinnati, Ohio, she attended Walnut Hills High School, class of 1958, and Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. She married William A. Estell Jr. in 1962, the year he was commissioned at the U.S. Naval Academy.
Jinny was a dedicated Navy wife and mother, and also became a practicing obstetrics nurse from 1971 to 1996. In the Northern Neck, Jinny was a Virginia Master Gardener and lifelong educator. She was an active volunteer in the Northumberland Elementary School Reading Partners Program, Bon Secours Rappahannock General Hospital, the Northern Neck-Middlesex Free Health Clinic, and the Master Gardeners Garden at the Northern Neck Farm Museum in Heathsville.
Jinny is survived by retired U.S. Navy Capt. Bill Estell; children, William A. Estell III (wife Katherine and her son, Zachary) of Simsbury, Conn., and Martha Elizabeth Estell of Alexandria; grandchildren, Lauren and Katie Estell, as well as Cathy O’Keefe, the grandchildren’s mother.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Northern Neck-Middlesex Free Clinic or the Hospice of Virginia, 1328 Tappahannock Boulevard, Tappahannock, VA 22560
A celebration of life will be held on Sunday, January 19, 2020, at Good Luck Cellars in Kilmarnock.
