Visitation Information

Virginia A. Flens

Passed away on March 23, 2025

Virginia A. Flens (Wachowski), age 89, died on Sunday, March 23, 2025.  She was born and raised in South Chicago, where she lived until retiring to Cape Coral, FL in 2006.  Virginia was the daughter of the late Francis (Frank) and the late Stella (Fortuna) Wachowski, and the sister of Therese (the late Denis) Rogowski, the late Sr. Regina, and the late Raymond (the late Dorothy).  Married to Deacon Stanley J. Flens for 33 years until his death in 1996, Virginia was the cherished mother of the Rev. Daniel, Joseph (Isabel), William, Margaret (Mariusz) Mazek, Katherine (Dan) Kopanke, and Elizabeth (Eugenio) Avila, and the beloved grandmother of Kristina, Abigail, and the late Erik Flens.  She was the daughter-in-law of the late Stanley E. and the late Gertrude M. Flens, and the sister-in-law of Carolyn, Ralph (the late Carol Ann), Dominic (Andrea), and the late Leonard.  Virginia will be remembered as a loving aunt by her nephews and nieces and deeply missed by friends and neighbors in Chicago and Cape Coral.

A lifelong practicing Catholic, Virginia was a member of St. Mary Magdalene Parish in Chicago, where she also attended grade school.  She went on to graduate from Lourdes High School and then took college courses in secretarial skills.  After her marriage, she and Stanley worked together to assist with Pre-Cana sessions and Scripture studies.  Upon moving to Cape Coral, Virginia regularly attended St. Andrew Parish.

Early in her adult life, Virginia worked as an operator for AT&T.  For many years after her marriage to Stanley, she was a full-time wife and mother.  Later, Virginia worked as a secretary at Quigley Seminary South, the International College of Surgeons, the American Association of Endodontists, and finally the Claretian Missionaries until her retirement in 2006.

A woman of many skills and interests, Virginia loved gardening, sewing, cooking, jigsaw puzzles and shelling.  Ongoing learning was a lifelong priority, as she was an avid reader, earned a CNA certification to better care for her parents as they aged, and staunchly supported Catholic education.  Her love for travel took her across the U.S. and to five continents, whether on family vacations, visiting relatives and friends locally and around the world, or going on pilgrimage to Rome, Lourdes and the Holy Land.

Visitation:  Wednesday, April 2 from 2 PM to 8 PM at Elmwood Chapel,

                    11200 S. Ewing Avenue, Chicago

Mass:  Thursday, April 3 at 10 AM at Sacred Heart Church, 2864 E 96th St., Chicago

Interment:  Holy Cross Cemetery, 801 Michigan City Rd., Calumet City, IL

Masses for the repose of Virginia’s soul are most welcome, as are memorial donations to Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Venice, FL, or the Catholic Education Fund of either diocese.