Ginny LaFavor, 1925-2018

Minnesota

Virginia Jean “Ginny” (MacMillan) LaFavor, 1925-2018

Ginny LaFavor, 92, of Maple Plain, passed away July 11. LaFavor was raised in St. Paul, and attended Archbishop Murray High School and the University of Minnesota, where she graduated with a degree in Dental Hygiene. She was an avid golfer and a longtime golf administration volunteer having served the United States Golf Association (USGA), the Minnesota Women’s Golf Association (MWGA) and the Minnesota Golf Association (MGA). 

LaFavor began her volunteer service with the USGA in 1967 when she was appointed to the Girls’ Junior Committee, to promote junior golf in the State of Minnesota and attend and assist in the USGA Junior Girls’ Championship each year. In 1984 she transitioned to the Women’s Committee and in 1989 she was appointed to the Women’s Regional Affairs Committee serving until 1999. Two years later LaFavor was honored with the USGA’s Ike Grainger Award in recognition of more than a quarter century of volunteerism. 

Locally, she represented her home club, Hazeltine National Golf Club, as a member of the MWGA, was elected an officer and eventually served as the association’s president in 1982. By virtue of her position with the MWGA, she was elected to the Board of the MGA. Typical of LaFavor’s passion for the game and her record of giving back to it, she chose to be an active director of the MGA, volunteering for tournaments and serving on various MGA committees including the Women’s Mid-amateur Championship, Junior Golf and the Warren J. Rebholz Distinguished Service Award Committee. 

In 2000, LaFavor herself was recognized with the MGA’s Rebbie Award which honors individuals who, through their actions, have exemplified the spirit of the game at its highest level and who have made a substantial contribution to the game in Minnesota, or on a national or international level. 

At the end of her term as president of the MWGA, LaFavor’s fellow officers called her tenure “fair and thorough,” and described her style as having a “great sense of leadership with a great sense of humor.”