Virginia Kistler; World War II Veteran

Virginia R. “Ginger” Kistler, a 36-year Camarillo resident who served in the Navy during World War II, has died. She was 75.

Kistler died Tuesday of congestive heart failure.

Born in St. Augustine, Fla., in 1921, Kistler graduated from East High School in Rochester, N.Y., in 1939.

After working at an office job for a mustard company in Rochester, Kistler enlisted in the Navy during World War II, working on breaking Japanese military codes.

“I think she liked the camaraderie of the service,” said Kistler’s daughter, Carolyn Boaz, 48, a bank executive in Ridgecrest, Calif. “I know she made a lot of good friends when she was in the Navy.”

Kistler met her husband in the service. In 1944, she married Max Kistler, who was then a lieutenant with the Army Corps of Engineers. After the wedding, the couple returned to Rochester, where Max Kistler worked for a company that made train parts.

But Kistler’s husband eventually got a job at a Ventura County company most recently known as Abex NWL Aerospace, and the couple moved to Camarillo in 1960.

Virginia Kistler raised three children in Camarillo and also found time to volunteer with St. Columba’s Episcopal Church, the Girl Scouts, the Ventura County Symphony, the American Heart Assn. and other organizations.

“If she found something she believed in, she got involved,” Boaz said.

Kistler is survived by her husband Max; her daughter Carolyn; sons William Kistler of Paris, France, and Thomas Kistler of Santa Barbara; and four grandchildren.

Services are scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Saturday at St. Columba’s Episcopal Church in Camarillo. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that any donations be made to St. Columba’s. Arrangements are being handled by Pierce Brothers Griffin Mortuary of Camarillo.