Virginia "Gini" Booth Harris died on Jan. 2, 2019. She...

Virginia "Gini" Booth Harris died on Jan. 2, 2019. She was 71. Credit: Family photo

A poised, tenacious and fun-loving woman, Gini Booth in her earlier career did stints in acting, broadcasting, community outreach and public relations.

Calling on those experiences, as well as certain attributes from her parents, Booth for the past 20 years focused her heart and energy on helping adults on Long Island improve their literacy skills, said her son Curtis “Curt” Harris III of Sag Harbor.

Booth, formally named Virginia Louise Booth Harris, died Jan. 3 at age 71 at the Westhampton Care Center, the result of several health issues, her son said. Breast cancer was not among them, with Booth having twice beaten back that disease over the past 25-plus years, he said.

It was that experience with cancer that shaped her “life is tough, but you always keep the faith” philosophy, he said, with “keep the faith” the longtime signoff on her voicemail greetings. A companion sentiment was “Joie de Vivre” at the end of each email she sent.

Booth, a longtime Sag Harbor resident, was born Sept. 25, 1947, in Jamaica, Queens, to Harriet W. Booth and William H. Booth, a lawyer, New York State Supreme Court judge and civil rights activist, who marched with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Harris said.

Often “tagging along” with her father, Booth, too, developed a commitment to civil rights and social justice, her son said, as she also picked up “a sense of grace and poise” from her mother.

It was that strength, confidence and toughness, “juxtaposed with grace,” that served his mother so well in any number of endeavors, including her 20-year role at Literacy Suffolk Inc., an organization aimed at improving adult literacy skills. As executive director, she regularly met with legislators and helped craft programs and laws, not to mention raising funds, “lots and lots of money,” Harris said.

Booth was “totally devoted to eradicating illiteracy in adults,” seeing it as an issue that affects the whole family, with ripple effects for the community as well, said Susan Shiloni, hired 10 years ago by Booth and stepping into the executive director’s role when her former boss left the Bellport-based organization last May.

In a 2006 Newsday interview, Booth spoke of literacy being taken for granted, “but the loss of it means you simply cannot participate fully in this society. You never have enough information. You tend to get the lowest paying jobs.”

It’s also a matter of self-esteem, she said in an interview six years later. “When you first meet a student in the beginning, you shake their hand and it’s a very limp kind of thing,” she said. “Six months later, the handshake is very strong, because we’re building confidence.”

As committed as she was to serious issues, Booth also was well known for being playful.

Rebecca Walker of Piscataway, New Jersey, recalls her lifelong friend’s “whimsical, fun-loving side” that found them dancing to R&B/soul music in Booth’s Sag Harbor living room and, on excursions to the city, spraying themselves with perfume from the Saks Fifth Avenue counter, and all the time “laughing, laughing, laughing.”

Their fathers having been World War II buddies, Walker said, “I can't remember ever not knowing Gini.” Among the things her friend would want to be remembered for are “her joy of living, her desire for justice for everyone,” as well as the adoration she had for her sons and grandsons and the value she placed on her sisterhood of women friends.

Booth also “had a deep-rooted spiritual foundation,” her son said. He points to her work with Christ Episcopal Church of Sag Harbor, as well as with Syosset-based ERASE Racism, the National Coalition of 100 Black Women and endeavors related to cancer support as being especially dear to her.

Both her marriages, first to film producer Tony Bishop, then to physician Curtis Harris, ended in divorce, her son said.

She is also survived by son Shelton “Sean” Bishop IV in Los Angeles, as well as three grandsons.

A celebration of her life is planned for 3 p.m. Saturday  at Christ Episcopal Church, Sag Harbor. Donations in memory of Gini Booth can be sent to that church at P.O. Box 570, Sag Harbor, NY 11963.





 

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