CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – Audrey Jane Baker Vail passed away on November 29, 2015 at the Martha Jefferson House in Charlottesville, Virginia.
She was born December 13, 1926 in Ilion, New York, the only child of Kenneth Morgan Baker and Marguerite Dillenbeck Baker.
She grew up in Hudson Falls and Fort Ann, New York and graduated from Fort Ann Central School and The Crane School of Music at the State University of New York at Potsdam.
She married Atlee Gerow Vail, Jr. on September 2, 1950 in Hudson Falls. They raised their two daughters there and in Stamford, Vermont. They later moved to Bennington and West Arlington, Vermont before Audrey moved to Charlottesville in 1997 after Atlee passed away.
One of Audrey’s greatest loves was being at Lake George, New York where her parents built a cabin in 1933 when she was six years old. She and Atlee built their cabin in 1955. She was able to spend her summers, or part of her summers, there for 79 years.
Audrey taught music in public schools at all grade levels before and after raising her daughters. One highlight of her career was singing in a chorus with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center for two summer sessions. She also loved teaching and encouraging the musical talents of her four grandchildren.
She was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and First Presbyterian Church, Charlottesville. In Charlottesville she volunteered with JABA’s Pathways program, and also assisted with the children’s choirs at her church.
She was predeceased by her husband Atlee, her daughter Jane Vail Ward of Kingwood, Texas, and infant twin granddaughters Ann McKenzie Ward and Elizabeth Morgan Ward.
Audrey is survived by her daughter, Jocelyn Vail Thach and her husband, Presley; grandson, Drew Compton Thach and his wife, Katherine; granddaughters, Vail Thach Weiglein and her husband, Michael, all of Charlottesville; Allyson Ward Rapacki and her husband, Christopher of Spring, Texas; Katherine Lee-Ward Helton and her husband, Christopher of Longmont, Colorado; and her cherished great-grandchildren, Shepherd Joseph Thach, Presley Thomas Weiglein, August Miller Thach, Ella Baker Weiglein and Sebastian James Rapacki. She is also survived by her son-in-law, Christopher Ward, three nieces, one nephew and many cousins.
The family would like to thank the staff at the Martha Jefferson House for the compassionate care they provided Audrey during the three years she was a resident. Hospice of the Piedmont staff and volunteers were also very helpful during the final week of Audrey’s life.
There will be a memorial service at First Presbyterian Church in Charlottesville on January 9, 2016 at 2:00. Burial in Hudson Falls will be in the summer.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a contribution to The Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam, 44 Pierrepont Ave., Potsdam, NY 13676, or the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration, Radnor Station Building 2, Suite 320, 290 King of Prussia Rd., Radnor, PA 19087.
Local arrangements are under the direction of the Carleton Funeral Home, Inc., 68 Main Street in Hudson Falls.
