Virginia "Ginny" Bach

In loving memory of Virginia (Ginny) Bach, who passed away peacefully at home on August 10, surrounded by love.

Ginny was born Virginia Jeanne Swendsen in Detroit, Michigan, on March 18, 1935. She was the only daughter of Virginia and Berger Swendsen and the younger sister of Robert (Bob) and Claude Richard (Dick). Her family called her Jeanne.

Upon graduating from Detroit Lutheran High School, she enrolled in Evangelical Deaconess Hospital School of Nursing and earned her credentials as a Registered Nurse. Ginny was a skilled and compassionate R.N., with a keen sense of right and wrong. On occasion she disregarded the unquestioned authority of doctors to advocate for her patients.

In 1957, she married John (Hans) Bach. Their first child, Cheryl Lynn, was born in Lansing, Michigan, where Hans was completing his Ph.D. in microbiology. Their second and third daughters, Julie Marie and Susan Jeanne, were born in Syracuse, New York, where Hans had taken a position at Bristol Myers.

The family moved back to Michigan in 1967, settling in Kalamazoo, where Hans worked for the Upjohn Company and Ginny eventually went back to nursing at a women’s health clinic. Ginny’s primary focus was raising her daughters and creating a home in which they could thrive. The family enjoyed beaches at Lake Michigan, camping trips around the state, their backyard pool and play equipment, holidays with relatives, church functions and school activities, like gymnastics, theater, softball, and track.

Ginny taught her girls how to work hard and work together. They had to complete their chores before they could swim in the pool or get together with friends. In June, they picked strawberries, in July, blueberries, and in September, apples. They processed the fresh Michigan produce in their kitchen and stored it in an extra freezer for winter treats. Thus Cheryl, Julie, and Susie learned that hard work resulted in sweet rewards.

In 1987, Ginny spent several months in St. Paul, Minnesota, studying to become a nurse practitioner in women’s health. She became a favorite provider in her practice and, just as she had done years earlier, she advocated for her patients’ best interests. She also advocated for her own position in the practice, proving through hard numbers that she was an asset to the business. Her friendships from her professional life were cherished treasures, both nourishing and long-lasting.

She retired from nursing in 1990 and began to teach water fitness classes. She loved getting together with the “pool goddesses” at Parkview Hills in Kalamazoo. At age 65, after taking a class at a senior center, she began to paint with watercolors. She painted gentle and inviting Lake Michigan scenes from memory.

In 1991, she welcomed her first grandson, Ryan Kolb. In 1994, she welcomed her second, Joshua Kolb. Her third grandson, Noah Brownlee, arrived in 1998, and her only granddaughter, Clare Brownlee, arrived in 2001. She delighted in being a grandmother and gave tremendous support to her daughters as they navigated waters she had traversed years before. She was a delightfully fun and inventive grandmother, making up games with her grandchildren and enjoying their antics, while also being a shoulder to cry on when needed.

In 2011, daughter Cheryl and son-in-law John bought a home in Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico. Hans had passed away in 2007, so Ginny began to visit Taos in the winters, grateful for a respite from Michigan weather. She was enchanted by the mountains and the high desert, the long vistas, and the shops and cultural expressions of Taos. She began to spend more and more time there each winter and developed friendships with many people in the area. In 2023, she moved to Taos full-time.

Ginny’s combination of genuine caring, straightforwardness, and humor, along with the lessons she had learned from her own life experiences, made her a favorite among her friends and a keen advocate for women. She could see in a glance when a woman was in a bad situation, and she minced no words in encouraging that woman to dream big and expect more out of life for herself. She supported, encouraged, and talked straight, all with a quick wit that made her prescriptions easier to swallow. She reveled in her friendships with women and was delighted by the company of all her friends, of all ages. She appreciated the smallest things: a Taos sunset, a piece of her favorite cake, sneaking crackers to her daughter and son-in-law’s dogs. Even as she aged and her body became more and more disabled, her zest for life and joy in friendships increased. Most of all, her love for her daughters, which had always been enormous, grew and intensified.

Her last words on this earth were, “I love you.”

Ginny is survived by her daughters, Cheryl (John) Hedden, Julie (Scott Brownlee) Bach, and Susan (Wesley) Kolb, and her grandchildren, Ryan and Joshua Kolb and Noah and Clare Brownlee. She is preceded in death by her parents, Virginia and Berger Swendsen; husband John (Hans) Bach; and brothers Bob and Dick Swendsen.

A celebration of life will be held in Taos in October, and a Michigan family celebration is planned for summer 2027.

The family would like to thank the folks at Mountain Home Health Hospice for their loving care for Ginny this past year.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating in Ginny’s memory to the Taos Lions Club Respite Caregiver Program. Checks may be made payable to Lions Club of Taos, Inc., PO Box 199, Taos, NM 87571, with “TEBS Program” written in the memo line, or on their website www.lionscluboftaos.org.

The family of Virginia Ginny Bach has entrusted the care of their loved one to the caring staff of DeVargas Funeral Home of Taos. www.devargastaos.com 1-866-657-4019