The Bachelder Family

Irene Eva Bachelder, age 61, died peacefully at home in Kenwood, CA on Sunday, March 21, 2021 after a long struggle with breast cancer. She was surrounded lovingly by family, including her devoted husband of 39 years, Thomas, and youngest son Evan.

The daughter of hard-working Croatian immigrants William and Donna (Cenzer) Geiser, Irene was born in Duarte, CA and shared her early years with her parents and older sister Loretta in Monrovia, CA. Irene graduated from Montgomery High School in 1978 after the family relocated to Santa Rosa, CA in 1975. Irene and Tom met in Santa Rosa through a Catholic adult ministry program in 1978, and established their bond during interactions as counselors in a wilderness camp program in the Redwood Empire on the Eel River.

They were married August 30, 1981 in Santa Rosa. Over the next several decades, Irene birthed and they raised 4 sons together in the Sonoma Valley.

Irene completed Santa Rosa Junior College’s rigorous Psychiatric Technician certificate program and began working at Sonoma Developmental Center in Glen Ellen. Her creativity and commitment to serving those in her care was clearly evident, even as she next transitioned to SDC’s Adaptive Engineering department, where she modified and fabricated custom seating and safety hardware to accommodate the special needs of individual SDC residents. She found her work to be deeply rewarding and she shared the joy of improving the lives of others with her friends and family. In early 2019, after more than 30 years serving the SDC community, Irene retired due to a decline in health—tragically found to be a terminal recurrence of breast cancer.

Irene and her family were long-time members of St Leo’s Catholic parish in the Agua Caliente neighborhood of Sonoma. Her faith was evident in the many ways she served others, be it her work at SDC, volunteering on service trips to Central America with Seeds of Learning, donations of time and small goods to local organizations, or her joyous participation for 12 years in the Emmaus Community. Irene loved music, photography, gardening, home-cooked food and quality time with friends and family.

Irene was preceded in death by her parents William and Donna (Cenzer) Geiser, her uncle Zvonko Geiser, grandmother Ana Marosi, and her cousin Tom.

She is survived by her husband Thomas Bachelder of Kenwood, CA, her 4 sons, Christopher Bachelder of Boardman, OH, Geoffrey (Aga) Bachelder of Long Beach, CA, Matthew (Kendra) Bachelder of Middleton, WI, Evan Bachelder and partner Alexandra Apodaca of Santa Rosa, CA, her two grandchildren Paxton & Natasha (Chris), her sister Loretta Geiser, and many other nephews, nieces, cousins and relatives.

The family is planning (pending COVID public health & safety guidelines) a celebration of life to take place in the coming months. As Irene ardently loved nature and gardening, the family welcomes donations for funding a memorial bench to be installed at Sonoma Botanical Gardens in Glen Ellen.

The family is forever grateful to Dr Ye and the Kaiser Permanente oncology and palliative care teams for over 2 years of additional time together following the beginning of her declining health. During that time, Irene savored every opportunity to be with loved-ones, both in-person and remotely via video. With the steadfast care of her ever dedicated husband and the support of the Memorial Hospice team, Irene achieved a beautiful end to a most humble and dignified life. She will always be with us and forever cherished in our hearts and memories.