Virginia B. Kops

Virginia Bruno Kops, a resident of Cold Spring, NY, passed away peacefully on October 28, 2025, surrounded by her loving family. Ginny was 70.

Virginia Ann Bruno (“Ginny”) was born on July 7, 1955, to Lorraine Cantone and Joseph Bruno. She was the middle child of five, growing up in Yonkers, New York. She often reminisced about a childhood full of extended family gatherings, Sunday pasta on Winfred Avenue, and sibling shenanigans.

After attending the Parish elementary school, she went on to Lincoln High School, where she met her lifelong friend Donna Cobelli. Together they attended Stony Brook University. Ginny always paved her own path, and nowhere was this more evident than in her applying for college. While her parents were always very proud of her accomplishments, Ginny’s decision to go to college meant that she would have to support herself. Moonlighting as a waitress while maintaining her course load, Ginny worked her way through her undergraduate studies and on to her master’s degree in Education, which took her to Boston University and ushered her into the next chapter of her life.

In Boston, she continued some of her old friendships from Stony Brook while also forming new, enduring bonds—connections that would shape the trajectory of her life in the most kismet of ways. While living on Mulberry Street, a friend asked if his buddy could stay at the house while visiting from the Netherlands. The visit may have carried on longer than initially agreed upon, but the Dutch traveler did extend an open invitation for all the ladies to stay with him in his flat in Amsterdam the next time they were in town. Perhaps he didn’t think they would take him up on it—but the very next year, Ginny planned a trip with her friend Kathy to bike around Europe. Unfortunately, their paths crossed in the wrong direction, as Robert was in America visiting his future wife, Barbara. “No worries,” he said, “you can ring up my brother Huub.” While sparks may have flown during that initial meeting, they certainly grew when Ginny’s two-day stay turned into a week long wait for a replacement passport, thanks to the petty thieves of Vondelpark.

After two years in a long-distance relationship, Ginny and Huub were married on June 18, 1983, at St. John the Baptist Church in Yonkers, NY, and soon welcomed their daughter, Kaley, that same year.

Ginny went on to earn a second master’s degree in Social Work at Columbia University and began her career in the public school system in the Bronx. She worked as an advocate and counselor for teen mothers, often taking Kaley along to school events.

In 1988, Erik was born, and after living most of her life on Winfred Avenue, Ginny and Huub decided to make the move to the bucolic Hudson Valley. This brought Ginny closer to family, who all lived within 45 minutes of one another, allowing her to continue the traditions of her extended Italian-American family. They settled into their new home on Horton Road, and Ginny continued the long commute into the Bronx for a short while before turning her attention to private practice. She provided counseling services to the community from her home office as well as from her Newburgh office, striving to balance her professional life with raising her children. After a full day’s work, dinner was always beautifully prepared and ready for Huub after a long commute home from the city. Ginny enjoyed many family trips to visit relatives abroad, spending many summers and winters traveling throughout Europe and savoring in the good life she and Huub had created.

As the kids grew older, Ginny began working within various school districts—first in Somers and then, ultimately, in Warwick—where she retired at the age of 55.

After a long career, while providing a loving and supportive home to her husband and children,

and a brief period of caring for her ailing father, Ginny was looking forward to a retirement full of travel and relaxation. Many trips were planned. Sadly, Ginny began to experience health issues not long into her retirement. The symptoms were subtle at first, and she coped well, managing to carry on and adjust to how her body was responding. As time wore on, the symptoms became more apparent, and in 2018 Ginny was diagnosed with Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD)—an illness unfamiliar to most around her. Throughout the illness, Ginny maintained her steadfastness and tenacity for life. She remained present and engaged in the major milestones of her children’s lives, as Kaley and Erik both married and started their own families, all while battling this unrelenting disease. Ginny’s grandchildren, Kian and Liana, provided much joy during these otherwise very difficult times and she was looking forward to the arrival of her third grandchild, in early 2026. Ginny worked hard every single day and managed to do so with grace and dignity, with Huub by her side.

Ginny was a devout Catholic and faithful parishioner of Our Lady of Loretto Church, and for many years an enthusiastic soprano in the church choir. Ginny’s love for music was so strong that even after the loss of most of her speech in the early years of her illness, she was still able to carry a fine tune—singing along with and remembering the lyrics of songs played on the car stereo, or performed live on the piano or guitar by Erik.

Ginny was predeceased by her parents, Lorraine (Cantone) Bruno and Joseph Bruno. She is survived by her beloved husband of 42 years, Huub Kops, her daughter, Kaley (Arash) Parnia-Kops, and son, Erik (Sarah) Kops, her siblings Anne-Marie (Robert) DiGenno, Anthony (Donna) Bruno, Barbara (Henry) Jodry, John (Colleen) Bruno and her cherished grandchildren Kian and Liana. She is also survived by many nieces, nephews, cousins, dear friends and extended family-in-law.

Family and friends are invited to attend a wake in honor of her life, to be held on Monday, November 3, 2025, from 4:00–7:00 PM at Clinton Funeral Home, 21 Parrott Street, Cold Spring, NY 10516. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Tuesday, November 4, 2025, at 11:00 AM at Our Lady of Loretto Church, 24 Fair Street, Cold Spring.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD) at theaftd.org, in Ginny’s name, as a reflection of her lifelong commitment to helping others.