Joy Wackerbarth Bashore, 80, of Forest died May 20, 2022. She leaves behind her husband, Bob, of 58 years; her son, Scott and his wife, Kristin, and their three children, Julia, Nolan, and Aidan of Broadlands, Va.; her son Rob and his wife, Elizabeth, and their two children, Lilly and Davis of Charlotte, N.C.; her sisters Joanne McCandlish of Williamsburg, Va., Jill Tierney of Chicopee, Mass., and Jackie Arnold of Powell, Ohio.
Joy was born in Morenci, Arizona and moved with her family to Granville, Massachusetts at age two where she lived until leaving for college. She attended Defiance College, Defiance Ohio, for two years where she met Bob. She then transferred to Wake Forest College, in Winston Salem, N.C., where she graduated with a BA in English in 1964. Joy and Bob were married after her graduation and lived in Roanoke County for two years where Joy taught, first at South Salem Elementary and then Andrew Lewis High School. The two then moved to Radford, Va. where the two boys were born. The next move was to Campbell County where they lived for 25 years until moving to Forest where they remained the rest of their lives. Joy earned her MEd at Lynchburg College in Reading and English while her children were young. She taught one year at Brookville Middle School before becoming an adjunct instructor at CVCC for eleven years. Her last 17 years at CVCC, Joy served as a full-time instructor, finishing her career as an associate Professor of English and chairman of the English department. She was chosen Professor Emeritus in 2014. During the same time, Joy served on the Campbell County Social Services Board for several years. Joy was a driver for Meals on Wheels. She was a tour guide at the National D-Day Memorial and was active n the Bedford International Alliance making several trips to Normandy, France. She will also be remembered for her many entertaining essays she shared on WVTF and Radio IQ, NPR radio.
Joy was an active member of St. Andrew Presbyterian Church for 42 years, serving 13 years as a Sunday School teacher and multiple terms as deacon and elder. She also was an active member of the Puah Circle for many years. She and Bob joined Holy Trinity Lutheran in 2015. Joy enjoyed playing golf with Bob and many of her friends and was also an accomplished bridge player. Joy and Bob travelled extensively, but her favorite trip was an Alaskan cruise that included all the grandchildren and parents.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the CVCC Education Foundation at 3506 Wards Road, Lynchburg VA 24502 for the endowed scholarship fund Bob and Joy established at CVCC to aid non-traditionally-aged women returning to school.
A memorial service will be held 2:00 PM, June 4, 2022 at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 1000 Langhorne Road, Lynchburg, VA 24503.