Virginia Mae Benvenuti

Virginia Mae Benvenuti, known as “Gini” to her friends and “Mimi” to her grandchildren, has made her transition to Heaven at the age of 88. Although the loss of her physical presence takes our breath away at times, we find comfort in knowing that Heaven has gained the most amazing guardian angel.

Virginia was preceded in death by her beloved parents, Charles and Venetia Wefing of Denver. Robert P. Benvenuti, M.D., (Bob) her cherished husband of 38 years, has been sorely missed by her ever since his passing in 1999.

A native Coloradoan, Gini was born in Denver on February 18, 1938, and graduated from North High School in 1955. She then attended the University of Colorado, gaining her bachelors degree in nursing as well as many sisterly ties within the Alpha Phi sorority before beginning a career in neonatal pediatrics. In March 1961, Virginia married Bob Benvenuti at Divine Science Church in Denver, and she soon found that the role of mother to her three children was the most inspired calling in her life.

Virginia lived in Colorado all her life with the exception of three years at Tachikawa Air Force Base in Tokyo, Japan. It was there and in Colorado Springs that Gini and Bob briefly raised their young family during Bob’s service in the Air Force. Once children had grown, Gini enjoyed working in real estate before earning her MSW from the University of Denver. She then worked as a school social worker, a career she adored for many years.

In retirement, Gini moved to the Heritage Eagle Bend (HEB) neighborhood, where she founded the HEB Angels group, a caring community initiative that continues to operate today. She adored new adventures with her friends at HEB, traveling the world and creating lifelong memories.

Throughout her 35 years as “Mimi,” Virginia again found great purpose and happiness in grandparenting. Her grandkids agree that they loved dancing with their Mimi, no matter the various musical tastes of each grandchild at the time. All of them in recent years, fondly recall chatting on the phone and asking her what she was up to that day. She could be relied upon to say, “Sitting on my couch, petting my kitty cat.” Mimi’s cat, Tigger, the recipient of Mimi-love for over a decade and a half, now enjoys his new home with daughter Beth. Virginia’s most recent years living in the Wind Crest Retirement Community provided her with loving friends and neighbors, and hours of fun at cards and dinner with those friends bringing great joy to her life.

Gini will be remembered for her loving heart, her giftedness with tiny children, her dedication to helping others, and the joy she brought to her family and friends. Her family will always remember her as the greatest listener on the planet. She would often say lovingly, “Tell me more about that, Sweetheart,” and she would quietly listen without judgement until you felt better about things that day. Additionally, her sense of humor about her aging process was adorable. Virginia often laughed at her lack of “get up and go” by saying, “I’m old, you know.”

Mimi is dearly missed by her three children: daughter Elisa Mae Wolfe (Randall Wolfe,) daughter Beth Ann Asbury (Charles Asbury,) and son Robert Charles Benvenuti (Jacqueline Delvalle-Benvenuti,) six grandchildren: Nicholas Wolfe (MaryJane,) Jessica Gabrione (Thomas,) Jason Wolfe, Beau Ranieri, Dylan Ranieri (Kylee,) and Lorenzo Delvalle-Benvenuti (Tori,) and her great-grandson, Noah Gabrione. She is also survived by her brother-in-law, James P. Benvenuti, M.D. of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her legacy of love lives on through the many lives she touched and the family she cherished.

A celebration of life will be held at 2:30 p.m. on June 26, 2026, at Horan & McConaty, 5303 E. County Line Road, Centennial, Colorado 80122. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Boys & Girls Clubs of America (giving@bgca.org) or to Doctors Without Borders (give.doctorswithoutborders.org.)

“You can shed tears because they are gone, or you can smile because they lived. You can close your eyes and pray they will come back, or you can open your eyes and see all that they left for you. Your heart can be empty because you can’t see them, or you can be full of the love you shared. You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday, or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday. You can remember only that they are gone, or you can cherish their memory and let it live on. You can cry and close your mind and feel empty, or you can do what they would want. Smile. Open your heart. Love and go on.” - Elizabeth Ammons