Global Ministries is saddened to learn of the death of Rev. Virginia Ruth Kennedy Bergfalk
Global Ministries is saddened to learn of the death of Rev. Virginia Ruth Kennedy Bergfalk.
Virginia Kennedy Bergfalk died peacefully on April 17, 2025.
Virginia was born July 21, 1934 to David and Ruth (Madden) Kennedy and grew up in Rahway, New Jersey. She graduated from Rahway High School and Cedar Crest College in Allentown, Pennsylvania, followed by a year at Union Theological Seminar in New York City. She served as a mission co-worker to South Africa from 1958-1969, working primarily among Zulu-speaking people.
Upon her return to the States, Virginia coordinated several women’s centers and worked as a crisis intervention and job counselor in Rhode Island before returning to Union Theological Seminary to complete her pastoral training, graduating in 1981.
Her first pastorate was a new UCC church start in Maple Grove, Minnesota, and subsequently served several churches in California, New Jersey, Connecticut, Minnesota, and Arizona. Upon retirement, Virginia moved to Tucson, Arizona, where she continued her calling as a campus minister, wedding officiant, and active member of St. Francis in the Foothills Church.
She is survived by her daughters Carrie Bergfalk, Thandi Bergfalk (Steve Croll), Sarah Moritz (Tim); nephew Richard Blair (Karen Myers); and grandchildren Linnea Tuggle (Ryan), Ben and Elizabeth Croll, and Hunter and Alexis Moritz. She was predeceased by her parents, David and Ruth Kennedy; sister Janet Blair (Don); and Robert Bergfalk.