Virginia Louise (Cook) Bachalis, 86, passed away peacefully surrounded by her loving family on Wednesday, December 7, 2016 from a prolonged illness. Daughter of the late Earl and Elsie (Kafes) Cook, she was a lifelong resident of the Trenton area. She was the wife of 51 years to John J Bachalis, Sr., who passed in 2011.
Virginia was a graduate of Trenton Central High School and Rider College. She worked for a number of years at New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Company where she met her husband, when she was selling tulip bulbs for an office charity; the flower became the symbol of their love. Her true calling, however, was using her talents to become a professional vocalist. After an engagement at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City she returned to the Trenton area, where she was a soloist and performer in many local productions at Bucks County Playhouse, Neshaminy Valley Music Theater, and Mercer County Community Chorus among others. She was a soloist with the Delaware Valley Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus and the Trenton Symphony. She was often featured in concerts in local venues such as Cadwalader Park and Asbury Park where she dedicated the Music Pavilion. Virginia was a member of the Trinity Cathedral Choir in Trenton for many years. She has been a guest soloist for many Trenton-area churches and became a choir director and organist for St. John’s in Allentown and St. Alphonsus in Hopewell, and most recently was a member of the choir at St. Charles Borromeo Church in Skillman. For 25 years, she was a professional quartet member at the Har Sinai Temple in Trenton. She loved sharing her talents with her many vocal and piano students and became close to many.
Virginia engaged in numerous community programs and social activities. She was a member of the Trenton Junior League, member and past officer of Soroptimist International in Princeton and member and past president of the Present Day Club in Princeton. She participated in the Boheme Opera Guild as well.
Virginia is survived by her four children and their spouses: daughter Anne M Blake, sons John J Bachalis, Jr. (wife Inge); Daniel T Bachalis (wife Barbara); Joseph J Bachalis; her grandchildren, Jennifer Blake Williams (husband Peter), Jessica Blake, Julie, Christopher, Peter, Michael, Daniel (wife Sherry), Kevin and Thomas Bachalis as well as her great-grandchildren Alexandra, Sydney, and Connor. She is predeceased by her grandson Bradford Bachalis and son-in-law John B Blake. She leaves her sister, Joyce (Cook) King and her nieces Lowell Henderson Wade, Barbara Brezak, Carol Woodward and nephew Bryan King Jr. She also held dear her extended family and many friends.
Relatives and friends are invited to attend the viewing at Wilson-Apple Funeral Home, 2560 Pennington Road, Pennington on Sunday, December 11, 2016 from 5 to 8p.m. and Monday from 9 to 10 a.m. The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Monday, December 12, 2016 at 11 a.m. at St. Charles Borromeo RC Church, 47 Skillman Road, Skillman, N.J. Burial will follow in the Ewing Church Cemetery, Ewing.
Donations may be made to the Boheme Opera Guild or a charity of your choice.
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