Genevieve “Jackie” Gore ’52 Visser
Genevieve Gore Visser (“Jackie”) of Virginia Beach and Boynton Beach, passed away peacefully at home with family by her side on December 1, 2022, at the age of 91, less than two months after losing the love of her life, Roger Leonard Visser.
Jackie is survived by her son Scott Visser and wife, Melodye Visser of Wilmington, North Carolina; her daughter, Laura Visser Weis and husband, Bart Weis of Charlottesville, Virginia; her son, Britt Visser and wife, Roxanne Visser of Virginia Beach, Virginia; her son-in-law H. Benson Dendy of Richmond, Virginia, her siblings Leland Gore and Ina Gore Strain of Vero Beach, Florida; eleven grandchildren and three great grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her daughter, Stacey Visser Dendy of Richmond, Virginia and her husband, Roger Leonard Visser.
Jackie was born and raised on a cherry farm on the Old Mission Peninsula in Traverse City, Michigan, the sixth of eight siblings. With a view of Lake Michigan, acres of orchards to run through, and seven siblings to play with, she told many tales of life on the cherry farm.
Jackie graduated from Traverse City High School at age 16 to attend Hope College in Holland, Michigan, where she met Roger on the first day of college. She later described that meeting as love at first sight but only after he chased her for years. After graduating, they married and she taught school supporting him through an orthodontic degree at the University of Michigan.
They settled at the North End of Virginia Beach and raised four children at the beach, on the water and tennis courts. Family time often included surfing, fishing trips, boat rides, beach volleyball and, always, church on Sunday.
Eventually, Jackie traded in her wood paneled station wagon with four children inside for a beloved black Alpha Romeo Spider. She could be spotted expertly shifting gears on Pacific Avenue with the convertible top down, jet-black hair blowing in the wind, a set of golf clubs in the backseat and the vanity plate “MRSVIS.”
She loved games of all kinds and was an avid tennis, golf and bridge player. She won many club tournaments and had three holes-in-one but, most of all, she cherished her many friends at the tables and on the courses at The Princess Anne and Quail Ridge Country Club in Boynton Beach, Florida, where she and Roger spent incredibly happy and active winters in retirement.
Jackie embodied love, faith, loyalty, kindness, and strength. She was her family members’ greatest cheerleader and, if she knew you, your greatest cheerleader too, unless you happened to be on the other side of the net or bridge game, in which event she was playing to win.
Jackie was involved in many charitable causes and community activities in Virginia Beach including The Cavalier Garden Club, Daughters of the American Revolution, and multiple church and Christian groups. Most of all, her life was devoted to Roger.
When he passed seven weeks ago, her most oft-repeated phrase was “I was supposed to get there first.” Theirs was a match made in heaven and when she was diagnosed with a terminal illness just days after his passing, she was ready to be with her match again, more alive than ever, not on earth but in heaven.
We were blessed to celebrate Jackie’s life and Roger’s life a few weeks ago with hundreds of friends while she was still here to see everyone, share love and say her goodbyes. It was a wonderful celebration of two lives devoted to God, their family, community and, most of all, each other.
Thank you to all their friends for making their lives richer.