Marjorie Burcalow Balis

   Marjorie “Marge” Elaine Burcalow Balis, of Hertford, passed away suddenly in her home on Wednesday, March 9, 2016 following a wonderful two months of traveling to see family and friends in Florida and Texas. She loved to travel and enjoyed seeing her family.

   Marge was born in Monroe, Wisconsin on July 22, 1934 and was the third daughter in a family of eight siblings born to the late Harry and Mildred Outhouse Burcalow.

   Marge went to the University of Wisconsin - Madison where she met John Stewart Balis whom she married on June 24, 1955. They moved to Purdue University where she graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Home Economics. They had two children in Indiana and later had two children in India. John and Marge served in India as agricultural Missionaries at the Presbyterian Missionary Agricultural College in Allahabad, India from 1961-1967. This was the start of Marge’s world travels. John then joined the Agency for International Development (1967-1994), and they were stationed in Ithaca, NY; Washington, DC; Dakar, Senegal; and Yaounde, Cameroon. Throughout her travels, Marge loved to help women entrepreneurs, work with various charity organizations, and enjoy new adventures.

   When John and Marge returned to the U.S., Marge was proud to be a working woman at the National Science Foundation and then the non-profit International Science Foundation. She supported many causes that she believed in such as the Norfork Botanical Gardens, American Association of University Women, various theaters and orchestras, and the United Methodist Church and associated Church women’s circles. She enjoyed many hobbies such as rug hooking, reading, birding and traveling. Recent travels included seeking the monarch butterflies in Mexico; church trips to Cuba and Chile; birding in Mazatlan, Mexico; trains across Canada, Australia, Alaska, and Vermont; and traveling with her daughters to Hawaii and Greece/Turkey. Marge was a great mother and a fabulous friend.

   In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by a sister, Marcia, and by her son, Jeffrey.

   Surviving are her loving family, her husband of 62 years, John; three daughters, Jennifer and Michelle Balis, and Martha (Eric) Larsen; daughter-in-law, Deborah Weber Balis; three granddaughters, Leslie (Josh) Anderson, Ellora Larsen, and Mia Larsen; a great-grandson, Rhys Anderson; four sisters, Mary Kinney, Lucy (Dale) Shampo, Emily (Don) Henderson, and Helen (Heinz) Melzl; two brothers, Harry (Janet) Burcalow and William (Corinne) Burcalow; and many nieces and nephews.

   A memorial service will be held Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. in Hertford United Methodist Church and will be officiated by her pastor, the Rev. Jane Leechford. Friends may join the family in the church fellowship hall immediately following the service. Miller & Van Essendelft, Funeral and Cremation Providers, 1125 Harvey Point Road, Hertford, is assisting the family with arrangements.

   In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Butterfly House at the Norfork Botanical Garden, Heifer International, or to the United Methodist Children's Services of Wisconsin.

   Online condolences may be made by visiting www.millerfhc.com.