CHESAPEAKE- Virginia Bond, 90, of Chesapeake, Virginia, passed away on March 21, 2020.  Bond was born on September 2, 1929, in Laredo, Texas, the fifth of eight children, to the late Lorenzo B. Bond and Maria G. Escamilla Bond.  She joked that she and her five sisters were the original Bond girls.  She had a special place in her heart for children and being a mother and grandmama was her true joy and passion.  She worked at various jobs at department stores, banks, and a grocery store before she "retired" to pursue her heart's desire of being with children and became a nanny to many children throughout the years.

Virginia grew up in Laredo, Texas and lived in Corpus Christi, Texas, before moving to Vallejo, California; Honolulu, in the then territory of Hawaii; Coronado, California, and back to Texas with her late husband who was in the Marine Corps.  She fell in love with California, especially Coronado, so she moved back and spent 25 years in the crown city of Coronado before moving with her daughter, Susan, and son-in-law, Steve, to Plantation, Florida; Milton, Florida, Newport News, Virginia and finally settled down in Chesapeake, Virginia for the last 14 years.

She was a voracious reader and had a life-long love of learning.  She loved keeping up with current events, and studying history and languages.  She was fluent in Spanish and could also understand a bit of other romance languages.  She traveled throughout the United States and internationally to Mexico, China, Russia, Morocco, Spain, Gibraltar, Holland, and England, where she enjoyed connecting with the people she met, especially the children.  Her greatest legacy is the love and compassion that she had for children.  She instilled confidence and independence in her children by giving them the ultimate gift of knowing and feeling unconditionally loved.

Virginia is preceded in death by her parents; her siblings, Nellie (John) Leal, Ann (Alvin) Rogers, Minnie Wirsing, Edith (Charles) Feely, and Lorenzo B. (aka Buddy) Bond, Jr; and her children, Myra Annette Smith and Stephen Paul Smith, who both passed away as infants.  She is survived by her sister, Loraine (the late Jack) Vandigriff of Ocean Springs, MS; her brother, Raymond (Sue) Bond, of San Diego, CA; her children, Jamie (Chris) Smith of Springfield, MO; Timothy (Trish) Smith of San Diego, CA; Susan Bond (Steven Lorcher) of Chesapeake, VA; her grandchildren, Erica (Joe) Miller, James W. (Sierra) Smith III, Patrick Smith, Marilyn Crook Roach, Christie Crook Craig, Brad Lorcher-Bond, John Lorcher-Bond, Lauren Lorcher-Bond, and her great grandchildren, Emily Miller (Charlie) Gray, Joe Miller, Reagan Smith, Olivia (Livy) Roach; and many nieces, nephews, grand and great grand nieces and nephews.  She also has a special place in her heart for Brian and Joe Hansen, and Adrian and Aaron DeSilva, whom she lovingly cared for as children.

In keeping with current health guidelines, an intimate, closed Mass for immediate family only will be celebrated at Saint Paul Catholic Church, Old Towne Portsmouth, Virginia, on March 31.   In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Virginia's name to Save the Children, savethechildren.org, or another charity that helps the lives of disadvantaged and needy children around the world. Condolences may be registered at BWFosterFuneralHome.com.