Virginia Ahl Kyte, cherished wife, mother, grandmother and aunt, passed away peacefully Aug. 28 after a brief illness, safe in the knowledge that she was loved almost as intensely as she had loved her family and dear friends. She was 92.
Ginny Kyte was a smiling, lovely, faithful and genuine force of nature. She loved the sand pipers of the Jersey Shore, the lupine fields of early summer in Maine, and any good sporting event, especially college football. She will miss the endless matches of this year’s U.S. Open, where she was routing for a strong finish from Coco Gauff.
She baked cookies for every holiday, delighted in her grandchildren’s accomplishments and many adventures and, in her later years, knitted over 100 blankets for babies and toddlers along the southern border. Being a wife and mother and grandmother defined her and her last days were filled with a sense of contentment. She carried happy memories of being a newlywed racing sailboats on the Shinnecock Bay to joy-filled years as a young mother on Ross Lane.
Her strong will was born from a family lineage she rarely voiced but included Dr. John Peter Ahl, a surgeon in the Revolutionary War, Dr. John Alexander Ahl, a U.S. Congressman from Pennsylvania, and five generations of graduates from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, dating back to 1875. One of those graduates was Jim Kyte, fresh off the G.I. Bill after World War II. He became the greatest love of her life when they married in the summer of 1949.
Preceded in death by her truly beloved husband James Mathison Kyte Jr., she is survived by her loving daughters, Kimberly Kyte of Princeton and Jamie Kyte Sapoch and son-in-law John Sapoch of Hopewell; devoted grandchildren Emily and Jack Sapoch; brothers George W. Ahl Jr. (Trumbull, Connecticut) and Cary W. Ahl (Lancaster, Pennsylvania); along with a multitude of nieces and nephews.
Her family is grateful to the nursing staff and aides at Stonebridge who were a steady and constant lifeline of loving care in her final weeks.
A memorial service will be held Saturday, Sept. 28 at 11 a.m. at the Princeton University Chapel, Princeton.
Arrangements are under the direction of the Cromwell-Immordino Memorial Home, 2560 Pennington Road, Pennington.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks consideration of a gift in memory of Virginia Kyte be sent to Princeton University Chapel, Princeton University, Murray Dodge Hall, Princeton, N.J. 08544. The chapel, her place of worship for 20 years, has the great privilege to quickly respond to issues of pressing need, locally and across the country, in areas of social justice, disaster relief, refugee assistance and direct need. All gifts will honor her life.
