John Balsam, 63

Life lost one of its hardest working champions when John Balsam, age 63, privately passed during the early morning hours of July 2, 2016. His wife was at his side.

John was born and raised in Billings, the third son of Bobbe and Fred Balsam. John grew up fishing with his family and good friend, Pat, and playing baseball as a pitcher, from Little League through Legion Baseball. But the sport John grew to love and make a lifelong passion was golf. John began to understand just what heaven might be like whenever he played golf with his son, Joe, or with his brothers, Scott and Mike, or with his steadfast friends and Sigma Chi brothers, Steve, Dave and Tony.

While living in Billings, John attended Rimrock Elementary, Lewis and Clark Junior High and Billings Senior High. John played the clarinet in the marching band and during his junior year at a summer picnic with the band and majorettes, John hid a certain pair of shoes up a tree to catch the attention of his future sweetheart and eventual wife, Jerri Urbaska. They were both smitten at first sight!

John attended the University of Montana in Missoula, earning an undergraduate degree in mathematics in 1976 and a master’s degree in business administration in 1981. Throughout his career, John worked diligently to make sure others would succeed. John considered his work as not separate from the rest of his life, but rather, his work was an extension of his most basic self, which was love. John’s professional positions extended across the state of Montana from Miles City to Helena, to Butte to Missoula, and finally ending in Kalispell as the director of the Small Business Development Center. John’s work included business consulting and proposal development; technical writing of business plans, commercialization plans, research proposals, and award nominations; market research and commercialization planning on emerging technologies; and small business development. John regarded the people he met during his career not as business associates but as friends.

John adored his family and worked equally hard to help them succeed. John always told his children as they were growing up, “If you know math, you know life!” They took him for his word, and now his daughter, Jessica, is the global sustainability manager of Nike Retail Stores, and his son, Joe, is a CPA in Missoula. Near the end of his life, John tenderly whispered in Jerri’s ear, “You have been the core of my love and you always will be.”

Preceding John in death were his mother, Bobbe, and his brother, Chuck.

John is survived by his wife, Jerri, his daughter, Jessica, and his son, Joe, as well as his father, Fred Balsam; and his siblings, Scott (and wife Debbie); Mike (and wife Sharon), and his sister, Shellie Balsam. John is also survived by numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.

A celebration of John’s life will be held at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, July 15, at the Village Greens Community Center, 195 West Nicklaus Drive in Kalispell. Another celebration will be held in Missoula at later date.

John’s family wishes to sincerely thank the extraordinary medical personnel at Kalispell Regional Medical Healthcare Center who compassionately cared for John throughout his numerous medical treatments; the supportive caregivers at Home Options Hospice; John’s remarkable colleagues in the Flathead Valley Community College Continuing Education Department; John and Jerri’s amazing neighbors, Pam, Wayne and Kelly Bollinger; and all of John’s relatives and friends who have thoughtfully cared for John during his two-year journey with cancer.

If you would like to honor John’s life, a fund for John’s extensive medical bills has been created by his friends Steve, Dave and Tony (through Steve Vielleux, P.O. Box 577, Fort Benton, MT 59442); or to the Flathead Cancer Aid Services, Inc., 2555 Dillon Road, Whitefish, MT 59937 or www.flatheadcanceraid.org.