Basilisa VIRELLA

1948 - 2013

• BIRTH: 1948, Puerto Rico
• DEATH: 2013, Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, WI

INDEX

[N31214] Basilisa Virella
1948 - 2013

Basilisa Virella Passed away Jan. 21, 2013, at the age of 65. Beloved wife of Mark Nicolini. Dear sister of Carmen, Juanita and Maria. Preceded in death by her sister Angelina and her brother Victor. Further survived by nieces, nephews, other relatives and countless friends, both here and in Puerto Rico. A Memorial Mass will be celebrated for "Bassy" on Saturday, Jan. 26, at 9 AM, at St. Francis of Assisi church (N. 4th St. and Brown). Serving the Family WITKOWIAK 414-645-2467 Bassy was the owner of Diverse Clinical Services in Milwaukee since 1997 and touched the hearts of many through her professional work and her many years of volunteer services in the community. In lieu of flowers, donations to St. Francis of Assisi Church and the Lupus Foundation of Wisconsin would be deeply appreciated.
Published by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Jan. 24, 2013.

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Basilisa Virella - Bassy to her friends - was a clinical psychologist known for balancing kindness and compassion with directness to help her clients achieve their goals. "Her work was an extension of her personality," said Mark Nicolini, her husband of 22 years and the budget director for the City of Milwaukee. "She enjoyed helping people and was very understanding of the emotional and psychological challenges and problems people faced," he said. "She was also one of the few Spanish-speaking doctors of clinical psychology in the metro area." Virella died Monday at Columbia-St. Mary's Hospital of complications of lupus. She was 65. For the past 15 years, she had suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, but it had been managed well, Nicolini said. In July 2011, she was diagnosed with lupus and her condition grew worse, he said. She had worked at Catholic Charities and Marquette University, but in 1997 opened Diverse Clinical Services in Milwaukee. "She had a lot of Latino clients, especially kids, and she was wonderful with kids," said longtime friend Nedda Avila, a retired counselor with the Milwaukee Women's Center. "But she was a hard cookie and would tell you the truth. "She knew exactly what her clients needed and she would give them a lot of homework, so they wouldn't fail. But she also had a lot of insights and compassion." Mydia Lorenzana, a psychologist with Milwaukee Public Schools, knew Virella professionally and from their work with the Puerto Rican Foundation of Wisconsin. She said Virella balanced her knowledge of the Hispanic and Puerto Rican culture with directing clients to abandon inappropriate habits for good habits. "She was a good psychologist and had that skill to be kind yet direct with clients and their needs," she said. Virella also looked out for her low-income clients, making sure families would get a Thanksgiving basket or toys for Christmas, Avila said. "She was a very giving person." Born to a poor family in Puerto Rico, Virella was one of six children whose parents worked hard and placed a high value on education, Nicolini said. "Some of Bassy's work in Puerto Rico included working with an organization called Aspira (which means aspire, or hope) designed to help poor youth develop the aspiration for college and careers," he said. She received bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras. She then went to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she received her doctorate in psychology. There she met Nicolini. In 1991, the couple married in Puerto Rico. Virella was active in the community, including providing volunteer counseling services for families and children and raising money for scholarships for the Puerto Rican Foundation, he said. She liked music and was an accomplished dancer. She studied the bass at the conservatory of music in Puerto Rico. For many years, she worked as a model in Spain, Italy, France, Venezuela and Puerto Rico, he said. In addition to her husband, Virella is survived by sisters Carmen, Juanita and Maria.

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Basilisa Virella
A memorial Mass will be at 9 a.m. Saturday at St. Francis of Assisi Church, at N. 4th and Brown streets. In lieu of flowers, donations to St. Francis of Assisi Church or the Lupus Foundation of Wisconsin are requested