Louis William Balvanz
Marriages
Alice Westervelt
Obituaries
Steamboat Today - November 15, 2009
Louis William Balvanz, 76, of the Bartels Lutheran Retirement Community and formerly of Plainfield, Iowa, died of natural causes Nov. 11 at the Bartels Lutheran Home in Waverly.
Louie was born Sept. 4, 1933, in Alden, Iowa, the son of Martin C. and Tillie M. (Aswegan) Balvanz. Louie attended school in Eldora, Iowa, and then Steamboat Rock Jefferson No. 6 country school, near Allison. The family later moved to a farm near Shell Rock.
In 1947, the family moved to a farm near New Hartford, where Louie finished his schooling. After his schooling, he helped his parents on the farm. In 1949, the family moved to a farm in Plainfield, where he met his future wife, Alice Westervelt. In 1954, Louis entered the U.S. Army during the Korean conflict. He was honorably discharged in 1956 and returned home.
On March 18, 1956, Louie was united in marriage to Alice J. Westervelt at the Plainfield United Methodist Church, and the couple lived on a farm one half mile west of Horton. One winter, Louie worked for the Rath Packing Co. and during the summer drove Redi-Mix Truck in Waverly. In 1960, Louie went to work for John Deere Co. In 1963, the family moved to a farm near Horton where he farmed for the next three years. Louie then stopped farming, but he continued to work at John Deere, and the family moved to their acreage three miles north of Bremer where they lived for the next 33 years.
Louie retired from John Deere in 1993, and in 1998 the couple moved into Plainfield. In May of 2002, Louie became a resident of the Bartels Lutheran Retirement Community in Waverly. Alice died Feb. 15, 2009.
Louie was a member of the Methodist Church in Plainfield where he was active with several committees throughout the years. He was a member of the Tyrell Masonic Lodge and the El Kahir Temple Shrine where he was active as a shrine clown since the 1970s. Louie enjoyed fishing, hunting, camping and spending time with his grandkids.
Louie is survived by one daughter, Tricia Toussaint, of Fort Lupton; four sons, Cliff (Teresa) Balvanz, of Plainfield, Elmer (Deb) Balvanz, of Steamboat Springs, Clyde Balvanz, of Plainfield, and Lynn (Darlene) Balvanz, of Plainfield; 13 grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; one brother, Alvin Balvanz, of Missouri; and a sister-in-law, Jean Balvanz, of Shell Rock. He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Alice; and a brother, Ernest Balvanz.
Funeral services were held Nov. 14 at the Plainfield United Methodist Church with Pastor Dennis Burns officiating. Burial was in the Willow Lawn Cemetery in Plainfield, with military rites conducted by the American Legion Post No. 176 of Waverly. Visitation was held Nov. 13 at the Kaiser-Corson Funeral Home in Waverly, with a Masonic service by the Tyrrell Masonic Lodge No. 116 A.F. & A.M. of Waverly.
Memorials may be directed to the family or Cedar Valley Hospice. Online condolences for Louie may be left at www.kaisercorson.com.
