Oneonta – M. Virginia Gilmore Pudelka, 88, died September 29, 2026, at her home.

Born April 8, 1938, in Philadelphia, PA, the daughter of William Willis Gilmore and Mildred (Minter) Gilmore, she was named Mildred Virginia, but always answered to Virginia or Ginny. She grew up in the Mount Airy/Germantown area of Philadelphia and graduated in 1956 from Germantown High School. She received her BS in Education from East Stroudsburg State Teachers College (now East Stroudsburg University) and taught second grade for one year in Madison, CT, before marrying fellow East Stroudsburg student, Leonard W. Pudelka, on August 12, 1961. They moved to Syracuse, NY, where Len studied for his graduate degrees in History. Virginia taught kindergarten and second grade in the Onondaga Central School District at the Rockwell School in Nedrow, NY. In 1966, they moved to Oneonta, where Len taught History at Hartwick College, and they raised their daughter, Lisa, and son, Glenn.

Virginia substituted occasionally for Oneonta School District. From 1977 to 1998, she was the Parish Secretary for St. James’ Episcopal Church. An active member of Atonement Lutheran Church, she taught Sunday School, sang in the choir, and served as Financial Secretary. She was a member of the Hartwick College Women’s Club and served on its Scholarship Committee. After retirement, she participated in the Snark and Bandersnatch Readers Theater, the Center for Continuing Adult Learning (CCAL), Catskill Sympathy Orchestra Council, and Friends of Swart-Wilcox. She accompanied her husband on several overseas fall terms to England and January terms to the Czech Republic with Hartwick College students. She and Len also traveled with several Road Scholars groups in the United States and abroad.

She was predeceased by her husband, Leonard William Pudelka; her parents, William Willis and Mildred Gilmore; her brother, William Willis Gilmore Jr.; and one nephew, Ian Michael Gilmore.

She is survived by her daughter Lisa Ellen Weiss (David) of East Stroudsburg, PA; her son, Glenn Gilmore Pudelka (Janel) of Millis, MA; grandchildren, William Weiss (Jenna), Hana Weiss, Madeline Pudelka, and Benjamin Pudelka; her brother, Charles Edmund “Ted” Gilmore (Marygrace); three nephews, one niece, six great nephews, and four great nieces.

Visitation will be from noon to 1 p.m., with a funeral service at 1 p.m. Saturday, November 14, 2026, at Atonement Lutheran Church, 1 Center St., Oneonta, with the Rev. Paul Messner officiating.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Swart-Wilcox House Museum (SWHM), PO Box 1415, Oneonta, NY 13820, or to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute for Multiple Myeloma Research, PO Box 849168, Boston, MA 02284.

Arrangements are entrusted with Lewis, Hurley & Pietrobono Family Funeral Home, 51 Dietz St., Oneonta; www.lhpfuneralhome.com