We are heartbroken to share that Virginia Hammond Sella, age 81, died in Gladewater, TX on October 13, 2023, in the company of loved ones.
A proud New Englander, she spent her childhood in East Greenwich, RI, daughter of Sanford and Frances Hammond. After graduating from Springfield College, she taught school in East Greenwich. In her mid-twenties, employed by International School Services, she went to West Pakistan where she met her husband, Silvio Sella, an Italian engineer working on the Tarbella Dam project. Married for fifty-three years, they lived on four continents while raising their four daughters, traveling the world together well into their retirement years. Her teaching career spanned three decades and six countries from the U.S. to West Pakistan, Morocco, Australia, the former U.S.S.R., and South Africa.
She is survived by her husband, Silvio Sella, her daughters and their families, Karen Sella, Kim Sella, Kirsten Sella and Kevin Bryant, Hayden Brooks, Karter Bryant, and Kathryn Sella and Mark Harris, Kensington Harris, as well as her brother, Robert Hammond, and extended family and friends in New England, Italy, and Texas.
Per her wishes, a private memorial service will be held at her favorite place in New England summer of 2024.
Meanwhile, if you wish to honor her memory in some meaningful way, forgo the floral arrangements and embody what she taught: be your own person, accept others as they are, say what you really think, cultivate a sense of humor, explore the world, risk adventure, swim while you can, bring a good book, rescue stray cats, and always say "yes" to chocolate.
Thank you for being part of her life, and please feel free to share this with others who knew and loved her..
*For those of you wondering about the website, Luminanda is my (Karen, the eldest daughter’s) business, and it was just most expedient to add a page to the website.
Mom- You. How could anyone possibly describe you? You are indescribable. To know you is to love you. Thank you for letting me be your little lamby for so many years. I am so thankful I had the privilege of being loved by you. You were so loving, kind, creative, smart, funny, adventurous, and accepting. You made my life and this world so much better for just being in it. I love you. I love you. I love you. Always.
Virginia Lee Hammond Sella
August 26, 1942 - October 13, 2023
Mom. Matriarcha. Ginny.
I always felt safe coming to you with any problem, no matter how big or small. I could count on you to be honest with me, usually when I needed to hear it the most. You were the best advice giver. You taught me to never be afraid to beat to my own drum in life and the importance of exploring other cultures and other ways of understanding the world. You went above and beyond to be there for the important times in your daughters lives and always showed up for us. You led with kindness in life and understood that not only meant kindness with others but also with how you treat yourself. You were incredibly creative and witty. You had a remarkable ability to connect with people in such a raw and honest way. You were always just unapologetically yourself. You knew what I needed and when, even until the very end. You taught me what it is to be unconditionally loved and I’ll never be able to thank you enough for that. I will always love you. May you rest in peace.
I cannot turn to her in loss when it is she who is gone. I am suddenly both elder and orphan carrying the motherlode of grief with no mother, the warp and weft of my world unraveling through time.
The weight of her absence is a strange anchor.
She was a force of nature, and I will carry forth her goodness.
Rest in peace, Mum. I am your daughter. I’ll take it from here.
