Virginia E. Pavlovich, 94, of Appleton, Wisconsin and formerly of Ironwood, Michigan, passed away surrounded by her family on May 27, 2019. Virginia was born on August 24, 1924, in Marshfield, Wisconsin, the youngest of five children for Frank and Josephine (Reibhoff) Sudmeier. She attended high school at St. Mary’s Academy in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, graduating in 1941.
Virginia then attended UW Superior, graduating in 1945 with a bachelor’s degree. She did graduate work at University of Cincinnati, and earned her master’s degree at Michigan State University in 1968. Virginia began her teaching career at Roosevelt School in Ironwood Township, and continued at Luther L. Wright High School, retiring in 1984.
Virginia met the love of her life, Mike Pavlovich, after he returned from service in WWII and they were married on June 4th, 1949. They were blessed with three children, nine grandchildren, and nine great grandchildren and enjoyed 65 years of marriage until his passing in 2014. Virginia was an active member of Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church, formerly Holy Trinity, in Ironwood.
She taught religious education and was a member of the evangelization committee. She also volunteered at Grand View Hospital for twenty years, was a member of the Michigan Association of Retired School Personnel, was the secretary treasurer and member of the Gogebic Range Tamburitzans, and volunteered as a mentor in the math program at Even Start. Virginia was an avid reader, and enjoyed music, crossword and Sudoku puzzles, traveling, spending time with her beloved family, and was a huge Green Bay Packer Fan.
Virginia is survived by her three children, JoAnn (Mike) Smolcich, Janice Williams, and Mike Pavlovich; grandchildren Brian (Staci), Becky (Michael), Amy (Jerry), Adam (Niki), Tony (Abby), Matt (Drew), Randy (Kate), Mark, and Joe (Emily); great grandchildren Jeramy, Jamy Alaina, Nathan, Marko, Ryan, Johnathan, Blake, and Madeline; her brother in law Nick Pavlovich and her special cousin Georgia (Dan) Butler. She is also survived by many nieces and nephews and their families. Virginia was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Mike Pavlovich, her siblings Jeannette Sudmeier, Ed (Dorothy) Sudmeier, MaryAnn (Howard) Doehling, and Robert Sudmeier, her daughter in law, Bobbi Pavlovich, her great granddaughter, Peyton, as well as several sisters in law and brothers in law.
A memorial service will be held at Touchmark on Prospect Street in Appleton on Saturday, June 1st, at 1:00 p.m. A mass of Christian burial will be held on Friday, June 7th, at 11:00 a.m., at Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church at 108 S. Marquette Street in Ironwood, Michigan. Visitation will be held in the St. Joseph Family Room at the church from 9:00 a.m. until the time of service with burial to follow at Sunset Acres Cemetery in Ironwood Township. The family would like to extend a special thank you to the wonderful staff at The Admiral at Touchmark, who cared for our loving mother in her final days.
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