Anna Bachmann

Gail was born in Detroit, MI, to Dalbert and Margaret Fear on June 25, 1937. She grew up in Union Lake, MI, and graduated from Walled Lake High School in 1954. She attended Michigan State University, graduating in 1958 with a degree in English. Following college graduation, she married her sweetheart since 6th grade, Richard (Dick) Bachmann, and joined him in a 23-year long adventure in the US Air Force, living all over the world and raising three children. She was a high school English teacher until having children and moving to Japan interrupted her teaching career. Once the children were older, she earned her Master’s degree in Library Science at the University of Arizona in 1977. Like so many military spouses, she endured the anxiety of prolonged wartime deployments, frequent moves and separation from friends and family. She did it so well that both of her sons also chose an Air Force career for themselves, and her daughter became a teacher.

After 12 moves ranging from Georgia, Michigan, North Dakota, Japan, Nebraska, Florida, New Jersey, Delaware, South Carolina and Arizona, and year-long separations to Korea and Thailand, they settled in Poquoson, Virginia, where she worked as head librarian at Yorktown Middle School. She was very pleased that despite all the moves and changing of schools, all three of her children graduated from the same high school in Poquoson. Following retirement, Gail and Dick traveled extensively and always made a point to visit their widely-dispersed family. A blessing in her life was that daughter Heather settled in Poquoson and her family lived just down the road. “Bagda” loved being a grandmother and a great grandmother - she took great joy in being surrounded by children. When she downsized and moved to Northern Virginia during the Covid epidemic, she was able to spend the last years of her life surrounded by her family there.

From the very beginning she was a great lover of books, with her academic and working career focused on sharing her love of reading with her students, family and friends. She was always “the Book Woman” and kept a list of all the books she ever read, numbering in the thousands. She was passionate about music, especially opera and the organ, and always listened to the local NPR classical music station. Her love for travel and learning was life long and she was happily making trip plans right up to last year, when a stroke ended her traveling. We will all miss her greatly.

Gail was preceded in death by her parents, her beloved husband Dick in 2009 and her dear daughter Heather in 2016.

Gail is survived by her sons Rick (Jeanette), Steve (Julianna), brothers Ralph (Nancy) and Dalbert (Toni), sister Melissa (Buzz), 9 grandchildren (Daniel Bachmann, Sarah Bachmann, Andrew Bachmann, Jacob Bachmann, Zachary Carter, William Bachmann, Bryan Bachmann, Matthew Carter and Anna Grace Carter), and 9 great grandchildren.

Funeral services and burial at Arlington National Cemetery will be held on October 2. Arrangements are by Demaine Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given in her name to your local library.

The family wishes to extend our sincere thanks to the staff at The Fairfax at Belvoir Woods skilled nursing facility for their care and attentiveness during the final year of her life. She never gave up, and they never stopped trying to keep her comfortable and engaged.