OBITUARY FROM NEPTUNE SOCIETY WEBSITE:
Jacquelyn Balitz, known as Jackie, was born in Elwood, Indiana, May 8, 1925, daughter of H. Everett Stech and Bessie W. Stech, grew up in Gary, Indiana and later her parents settled in the nearby small town of Hobart, Indiana. Jackie graduated from Hobart High School and was voted as the most popular girl in 1943. Jackie, a longtime resident of Cleveland, Ohio, at the age of 96, passed away peacefully on December 3, 2021, at her home in San Ramon, California.
Jackie graduated from North Park University in 1945 and studied at the University of Minnesota. In 1946, she worked at the Commerce Clearing House in Chicago, Illinois, and married her high school sweetheart, Arthur Robert (Bob) Balitz, a U.S. Naval Officer, WWII veteran. In 1948 they welcomed Jim their first child.
After WWII, Bob deferred his Naval commission’s active-duty status and took a position as a civil engineer at Swift & Company. This fresh start suddenly required Jackie and her family to move around the country frequently. Her husband's assignments had the family on a journey, taking them to many different places including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio, and Tennessee. Later, in 1957, Jackie and her family planted roots in the suburbs of Cleveland. First, they lived in Parma Heights, Ohio, and had their second child, Barb, in 1959. Ultimately the family settled in Middleburg Heights, Ohio.
After moving to Middleburg Heights, Jackie became the Engineers’ Wives Club president and the president of the Parents Teachers Association for CA Thomas Elementary School. Jackie would always reflect on those times as the most memorable events in her life.
To know more about the girl, woman, and mother and wife, she savored delicious desserts, and she raved about the bakeries in California. On her daughter's recent birthday, Jackie’s favorite bake shop baked a three-layer butter cake sponge with assorted berry filling infused within Chantilly cream and topped with Chantilly icing. After every dinner meal, she would always say she had enough food for the evening; however, she could not refuse a large slice of any of her favorite desserts.
To be there for her daughter's birthdays reigned to be one of her most precious joys. More so, during her health indispositions these past two years, staying with Barb gave her a purpose to strive. Jackie spent a substantial amount of time and effort to find her daughter the perfect gift. No different than any other time throughout the years, it always weighed heavily on her mind.
Jackie appreciated elegance with style, for herself she wore pearls as an everyday expression of taste and sophistication. She was a keen shopper, always looking at the latest fashion. She possessed a sprucely refined appearance and could stand next to a Cover Girl and hold her own. Getting her hair done was a top priority. During her last day before passing, she had a Wash and Set. Like always, that uplifted her essence. Her vogue manner exhibited in her daily life, and for her, "that's never-ending," even in the face of her life's departure.
Jackie shaped her life by encompassing her love of reading, cooking, baking, and overseeing her duties. Although inconspicuously in her outward appearance, one would assume Jackie was just an amiable woman; nonetheless, one could also sense she came from a background of strong women. Most would consider her stature an early pioneer striving for equal justice, yet like a flower in pistillate form. Treasured and acquired from her mother, Jackie was a studious researcher to prove her point. Her steeliness bestowed steadfast conviction that invigorated values, traditions, and ideas.
Jackie's husband, Bob, a devoted husband, father of their two children, departed too soon for her desire. He was honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy in 1960 and passed away in 1965 at the age of 40. All on her own, Jackie had a respectable career as the bookkeeper for the Baldwin College bookstore and raised her two children. As a single mother, when widowed women struggle to raise children independently, she provided everything her children desired. Both children achieved higher education, earning their master's degrees. Jim and Barb have fulfilling life experiences as well as careers and became exceptional people of character and stability.
Jackie forever remained a faithful consoler to all those who took the time to get to know her. She inherently embodied graciousness, a woman who kept in touch with her friends along the way. Those fortunate to collect letters from Jackie could enjoy her pride in her penmanship. She carried out her formal duties as a cultivated, well-bred woman with vivacity.
Jackie opened her door to many souls. She hosted many social events, special occasions like holiday festivities, bridge games and dinner parties. She would often go to great lengths planning to ensure everything was perfect, seating arrangements, table settings, and other arrangements. She collected and improved recipes creating unique dishes and yummy desserts. On many occasions, guests would leave her home with a cache of chocolates or other special treats.
Moreover, Jackie is survived by her beloved younger brother Gordon Stech who has the most resonating glimpse of Jackie's life, had harmonious correspondence with his sister during this past year, 2021. It meant a lot to her to share these moments with her brother. Both of their parents had passed long before Jackie, and she felt closure and peace with this reunion with her brother.
Jackie is also survived by her son James Balitz, her daughter Barbara Balitz-Strickland and Barb’s husband Edward Strickland, her niece Beth Behning, daughter of her husband's late sister Ruth (Balitz) Ebbs, and Beth's husband Fred Behning, and her nephew, Gregory Stech. To the many friends and the other relatives, Jackie wished them the best and had expressed her deepest regards to all those who remain here today.
In the end, Jackie had the opportunity to do it her way. For a woman who had endured losing her husband at an early age when many women of her era remarried men of notoriety. In her self-reflection, she treasured her independence and freedom to choose. Jackie underwent a peculiar journey that only a few women of her era aspire. Upon her inevitable fate, there was no cheating Jackie out of her dignity. She passed away on her terms and made her wishes come true.
Jackie will have a private family burial service at the Woodvale Cemetery in the summer of 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio. Jackie's favorite pastime was reading, and she loved visiting and checking out books from every nearby library in every place she lived. In lieu of flowers, if one chooses, please consider donating to the Cuyahoga County Public Library Foundation at https://www.cuyahogalibrary.org/Donate.
This information and the picture below were obtained from: https://obituaries.neptune-society.com/obituaries/walnut-creek-ca/jacquelyn-balitz-10476478.