Beverly Jean Balanda

Beverly Jean Mandichak Balanda, age 78, of Strasburg, VA passed away on Sunday, May 1, 2022 at the Blue Ridge Hospice Inpatient Care Center, Winchester, VA. 

A private burial will take place at Panorama Memorial Gardens in Strasburg, VA, for family members and close friends.  

She was preceded in death by her husband, Stephen J. Balanda, after 46 years of marriage.  Beverly was born on September 5, 1943, in Elizabeth, NJ, a daughter of the late Lucy Valarosa Giannetti and John Mandichak.  She was a member of the National Presbyterian Church.

Survivors are her daughter, Laurel M. Balanda of Baltimore, MD; her sister Patricia C. Devine of Endicott, NY; nephews Michael Devine of Amissville, VA and David Balanda of Johnson City, NY; nieces Kelly Devine, Kim Devine, Nicole Devine all of Endicott, NY and Carolyn O’Shaughnessy of Wayzata, MN.  Also surviving are a brother-in-law Michael Balanda and sister-in-law Rita Balanda of Vestal, NY, as well as several great nieces and nephews and three great-great nieces.

Beverly retired from Amtrak, the nation’s passenger railroad, after 30 years of service.  She was a charter member and the first permanent employee to be hired prior to the start-up of Amtrak.  For 27 years, she was the Executive Assistant to the President/CEO of Amtrak and the three years prior to her retirement, served as Senior Director of Facility Management.  She directed the multimillion-dollar complete renovation of office space in Washington Union Station and the build-out of a new Amtrak office facility at 10 G Street, NE Washington.  As Executive Assistant to the President, she also directed the consumer affairs and facility management departments.  She initiated a “work-at-home” consumer relations program, long before the idea became popular. 

For Amtrak’s 40th anniversary, Beverly was featured in the book “Amtrak: An American Story.”  Prior to her retirement, she was honored with the President’s Achievement Award for sustained excellence.  

Mrs. Balanda devoted both her personal and career life strongly believing she was her brothers’ keeper.  She was a member of the Shenandoah Valley Democrat party.  She loved to travel with her husband prior to his death, and they cruised over a dozen trips from South America to the North Atlantic and Europe.  She was an avid reader, lover of Burmese cats and nature, and was a private person who shied away from the limelight. 

The family would like to offer a special thank you to family, friends, neighbors, along with the staff of Home Instead and Blue Ridge Hospice who cared for Beverly in her final days and treated her with respect, compassion, and love.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be made to your local humane society.

You may sign the guestbook and submit condolences to the family at www.stoverfuneralhome.com. 

Stover Funeral Home and Crematory, Strasburg, VA is serving the family of Mrs. Beverly Balanda.  

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