Virginia Marie Lehenbauer

Virginia Marie (Hashagen) Lehenbauer was born at home on Labor Day September 3, 1923, in St. Louis, Missouri. She was the only child of George Frederick and Mildred Augusta Louise (Volkman) Hashagen. She was baptized at Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, St. Louis, on the 23 of September, 1923.

In 1st Grade her Mark Twain Public Elementary School offered free dance lessons, and there Virginia found her first life passion, dancing. She continued lessons performing at the Fox Theater during her years at Beaumont High School. Fortunately, Beaumont High was close to a second passion, the St. Louis Cardinal Stadium, where she became a "knot holer" collecting autographs of baseball greats such as Joe DiMaggio, Lou Brock and Stan Musial on a prized baseball.

Immediately following her graduation from Beaumont High in 1939, Virginia auditioned and obtained a spot in the dancing chorus at the St. Louis Municipal Opera, the largest outdoor arena in the nation. She continued dancing there until 1944. During the fall and winter of 1943, she toured army camps in the south, performing a USO show for the troops there.

In 1944, she met several Rockettes at a good friend's wedding, and they encouraged her to try out for the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes in New York City. She took them up on that offer and became an enthusiastic member of the sisterhood of the Rockettes and a huge fan of the magnificence of Radio City Music Hall.

In 1946, a fellow Rockette signed up for with a USO group touring army camps in Germany, and Virginia also decided to try out and was included in the group. She kept diaries and scrapbooks of those exciting eight months.

Following her return from Germany including a trip to Paris, Virginia settled down as a secretary. In 1947, a blind date led to Virginia meeting Albert William "Tony" Lehenbauer, Pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church, Charleston, SC, since 1943. After a long-distance relationship and a trip through Florida with Tony and her parents as chaperones, they became engaged resulting in their marriage at Pilgrim Lutheran Church, St. Louis, on May 8, 1948.

Tony took Virginia home to his parsonage in Charleston where they lived until he accepted a call to St. Paul Lutheran Church in Glen Burnie, Maryland, in April of 1949.

On July 3, 1949, their first daughter Barbara "Ellen" Lehenbauer was born followed by their second daughter Janet Gail on September 6, 1950. A son James Michael "Jim" Lehenbauer came along then on April 30, 1954. Tony started the St. Paul's Lutheran School when Ellen was in Kindergarten while Virginia was a very busy pastor's wife.

In April of 1958, Tony accepted a call to Our Savior Lutheran Church in New Orleans, LA, where Virginia embraced the southern culture. Since dancing was somewhat frowned upon in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) at that time, they did not tell any of their parishioners or Tony's family about Virginia's Rockette career, his dad also being a pastor (Rev. Carl Frederick Lehenbauer of Kansas).

Tony became the LCMS Southern District Institutional Chaplain in 1963 and served there working out of Charity Hospital in New Orleans until 1973 when he accepted a call to be Executive Staff Chaplain of the Northern IL District of the LCMS in Chicago, IL.

In the meantime, Virginia and Tony began to work with a travel agent to gather and lead a group to the Lands of Luther in 1967 (the 450th anniversary of the 95 Theses nailed to the Castle Church door in Wittenberg), the Holy Lands in 1969 and the Oberammerau Passion Play in Germany in 1970. They continued organizing tours to six continents for the next 28 years.

Their family brought them much joy as they were blessed with eight grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.

Virginia is survived by her children Ellen, Janet (Steven) Allmon and Jim (Pauline) Lehenbauer; her grandchildren Stephanie (Mike) Merry, Timothy Allmon and Jonathan Allmon; Daniel (Bonnie) Lehenbauer; Carl (Katie) Lehenbauer; Michael Lehenbauer; Laurie Lehenbauer and David (Sarah) Lehenbauer; Great grandchilren Lydia, Esther, Elizabeth, Ruth and Silas Lehenbauer; Milo Lehenbauer; Noah and Emily Lehenbauer; numerous nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Tony, Lehenbauer, and her parents.

Visitation will be Monday, August 5, 2024, from 10 a.m. to time of Funeral 11 a.m. all at Lutheran Home - Chapel of St. John the Beloved, 800 W. Oakton Street, Arlington Heights, IL 60004Burial to follow at St. John UCC Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be designated to Concordia University Chicago: The Martin Luther Society.

For further information, please contact the Glueckert Funeral Home 847-253-0168