Virginia McGrath (Ginger) Carlisle died peacefully on June 5. She was 66.

Born and raised in New England, Ginger was a third generation McGrath spending childhood summers in Oak Bluffs, returning annually ever since to visit. Ginger’s extraordinary and inspiring seven-year battle with cancer ended Thursday evening, June 5, in Savannah, Ga. Her family and friends are grateful for the special time together she won for them as a result of the consistent faith and fierce determination she brought to that battle, and for the support she received from her incredible team of doctors and nurses at St. Joseph’s Candler.

Her 40-plus-year career in nursing and hospital administration began in Boston when she graduated from Peter Bent Brigham School of Nursing in 1968. In 1974 she moved to New York city where she met and married her husband, Steve Carlisle. Ginger and Steve moved to Savannah in 1980, where she worked first for Memorial Hospital and then for St. Joseph’s Candler, retiring just two years ago.

Ginger was a daily communicant and served as a Eucharistic minister and religious education teacher at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church in Savannah. She loved sharing her passion for her Catholic faith with the young people of the parish.

In addition to her husband, Steve Carlisle, Ginger is survived by five siblings and their spouses, Jane and Joe Prendergast of Sea Island, Ga.; Peter McGrath and Patty Zeigler of Mission Viejo, Calif.; Paul and Susan McGrath of Greeley, Colo.; Joan and Frank Sopp and, Bill and Peggy McGrath of Oak Bluffs. Two generations of nieces and nephews, including Mike Sopp of Oak Bluffs, also mourn Ginger’s passing.

Visitation and a vigil service were held June 8 on Wilmington Island, Ga. A memorial mass was held on Monday, June 9 at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church in Savannah.

A memorial mass for Ginger will be held at 11 a.m. June 28, 2014 at Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church in Oak Bluffs. Mass will be followed by a reception celebrating Ginger’s life.

There is an online guestbook, obit.foxandweeks.com/wrapper_gb.php?id=1388811. Remembrances can be made to the Nancy N. and J. C. Lewis Cancer and Research Pavilion, 225 Candler Drive, Savannah, GA 31405, or the St. Joseph’s/Candler Foundation.