Gnat dedicated her life to area seniors
By Jason Arndt
Staff Writer
After nearly 700 columns geared towards helping seniors in Twin Lakes, late columnist Virginia Gnat will get her name etched in village history, when the Village Board honors her as an Outstanding Citizen at 6 p.m. July 18.
The ceremony had been originally scheduled for June 6, but citing a delay in production of her plaque, village officials postponed it.
However, her name is affixed to the Outstanding Citizen flagpole at Central Park alongside 12 other names, with Bill Kasper receiving the most recent recognition last year.
Gnat, who died Feb. 15 at 85, was deeply involved in the Twin Lakes Senior Citizens Club, launching the club in 1996 following the death of her husband, Lawrence.
The columnist who wrote 672 columns for the Twin Lakes/Westosha Report, titled “Young at Heart,” conveyed pertinent information to the senior population of Western Kenosha County.
Gnat’s role included, but was not limited to, organizing trips and activities for members of the senior club.
Kathy Ticha, who assumed the columnist role in recent months, stated the former president put in extensive hours and loved the entire senior population.
“She was a wonderful president for the senior club, and dedicated her whole life to seniors,” Ticha said. “She spent at least 10 hours a day doing it.”
Additionally, Ticha recalls times when Gnat stepped up to the plate, making visits to seniors who were ill in spite of her own battle against cancer for 22 years.
“She cared about her seniors and was a wonderful person, always went to make visits to people who were sick,” Ticha said.
The honor is not her first, however. She received the “The Remarkable Older American” award from the Kenosha County Aging and Disability Resource Center in 2009.
Gnat is the mother of three adult children, Larry, Jeralyn and Cheryl, and had six grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.