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Balvin, Allen James
Allen James Balvin, 84, of Cedar Rapids, passed away at Northbrook Care Center on Sunday, March 17, 2013. A Celebration of Life service will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Cedar Memorial Park Chapel of Memories, by the Rev. Carroll Brown. Entombment: Cedar Memorial Park Cemetery, with military honors by the Iowa National Guard. A visitation will be held Monday at Cedar Memorial Park Funeral Home from 4 to 6 p.m.
Allen was born Sept. 8, 1928, in Tama County, the son of Louis and Emma Balvin. Allen graduated from Chelsea High School and served in the Korean conflict and was awarded a Purple Heart. He married Josephine Eden in Cedar Rapids on Oct. 28, 1958. They were blessed with four children, James, Laura, Terry and Christy. Allen worked at Quaker Oats for 32 years.
He enjoyed square dancing and going to Armar, biking trips and going to Nashville to see the “Grand Ole Opry.” Allen enjoyed visiting friends and attending family get-togethers and having coffee and conversation with friends at Donutland.
He was a loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. He liked the company of the family cats, Snickers, Milo, Sylvester, Smokey and Patches.
Allen is survived by his wife of 54 years, Josephine; children, James (Rose) Balvin of Cedar Rapids, Laura (Matt) Miller of Princeton, Minn., Terry (Jennifer) Balvin of Lakeland, Fla., and Christy Balvin of Cedar Rapids; five grandchildren, Brittany, Zachary (Jena), Jake, Riley and Scott; two great-grandchildren, Max and Lucy; brother, Leonard (Florence) Balvin of Chelsea; and two sisters, Wilma Malina of Chelsea and Evelyn Zmolek of Tama.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Louis and Emma; a sister-in-law, Velma Eden; and brothers-in-law, Calvin Eden, Eddie Kiracofe, Robert Soukup, James Malina and Jerry Zmolek.
Memorials may be directed to Camp Courageous or the Cedar Valley Humane Society.
The family extends heartfelt thanks to all the staff at Northbrook Care Center for their loving care of Allen.
Online condolences may be sent to www.cedarmemorial.com
Published March 18, 2013 in The Gazette
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