Arlene Balvik

Arlene J. Balvik, 68, of Halstad, MN passed away peacefully on Monday, April 8^th at The Sanford Medical Center surrounded by her family. 

Arlene was born on July 11^th, 1950 in Moorhead, MN to the late Cyprien (Zip) and Annie (Wambach) Dessellier.  She grew up in Georgetown, MN with her 2 sisters.  She graduated from Moorhead High School followed by attending Moorhead Technical School completing a medical secretary degree and also attended Josephs’ Hair School Design.  On December 16^th, 1972 she married her soul mate and partner in crime, Wayne Balvik.  They made their home in Halstad, MN where they had and raised 3 children.  Arlene was blessed to be a stay at home mother of her 3 children until they all attended school.  Once all the children were in school, she worked at The Shopper/Diversified Printers for 33 years.

     Wayne and Arlene were blessed with three children: son Craig (Jena) Balvik, Hendrum, MN, daughter Janelle (John) Jamison, West Fargo and son Wade (Allison) Balvik, West Fargo.  She was also blessed with 6 grandchildren: Shey-Anne Schroeder, Zach Kraft (Shelby Hatlestad), Aiden Kraft, Bailey Hunt, Elise Hunt and Noah Jamison.  She loved them all dearly and was so very proud of all of them.

     Mom always kept busy, never sitting still.  One of the many things that kept her busy was her flowers.  The more flowers, the better.  The brighter the color, the happier she was.  If you drove by her house in spring to the fall, you could honk the horn and almost guarantee seeing mom’s head pop out of one of her many flower beds, smiling and waving.  She also had a passion for cooking and baking.  Nothing made her happier than having people enjoy her cooking and baking. She would drop off “a few” treats to all her kids.  When mom would call her children and let us know that she would be dropping off treats, that was code for, “Wayne, grab the box from the car with the goodies.”   Just when we thought the boxes of treats couldn’t get any bigger, she started her chemo and steroids.  She couldn’t sleep those weekends, so to the kitchen she went.  Let’s just say, there was a reason her daughter had to store a ham in her freezer, as mom reached space capacity in her freezer.  She also had a love for watching her local high school sports, Norman County West Panthers, even long after her children graduated from high school. She would call and give updates of the area athletics and athletes from back home.  We wouldn’t always know who she was really talking about, but she was so excited to give the updates, it was fun just to hear and see the joy.  She enjoyed life to the fullest and never sat still.  She couldn’t go anywhere without talking to everyone she saw.  She certainly had the gift of gab.  Just when you thought she couldn’t sit still; she took up running when she was 55 and ran her first ½ marathon at 60.  We remember cheering her on when she was running and thinking, wow, there’s our 60-year-old mom running and we’re a bit tuckered out from cheering.

Out of all her hobbies, Arlene loved being a wife, mom and grandmother most of all.  She enjoyed every minute with her family.  Whether it was making cupcakes, baking goodies, playing cards, building legos, riding bike, going to swim meets, dog sitting or being a taxi.  You name it, she enjoyed it.  She was born to be a mom and grandmother.  We will all miss the calls that we would get after we spent the day together.  It was guaranteed that she would call and thank us for the wonderful day.

     A special thanks to the Roger Maris Cancer Center (RMCC) for 7 years of the most compassionate care a family could ever ask for.  She hated that she had to go, but absolutely enjoyed visiting with all the medical staff during her chemo treatments.  The medical staff quickly became mom’s extended family as she knew just about everyone at the infusion center.  As there are too many nurses and doctors to name, we do need to send the most gracious and heartfelt thanks to her guardian angel, Dr. Mark Gitau. There are not words to describe how forever grateful we are to you.  You had been with Mom on her entire journey.  Please know that we will never forget you.  In addition to our heartfelt thanks to the RMCC, we wanted to thank her surgeon Dr. Robert Sticca for his care thru moms’ surgeries.  Mom thought the world of you and always looked forward to seeing what tie you would wear during your visits with her.

     Arlene was preceded in death by her parents.  In addition to being survived by her husband, children and grandchildren, she is survived by her sisters Rose Balvik, Marie (Jim) Hill along with many nieces and nephews

     Arlene is going to be missed desperately by her family.  Simply put, the world was a better place with her, and people were blessed to have known her.  She is now in the loving hands of the Lord.  Rest in Peace.

Visitation: Saturday, April 13, 2019 from 10 AM until 11 AM at Holy Family Catholic Church, Halstad, MN.

Memorial Service: Saturday, April 13, 2019 at 11 AM at Holy Family Catholic Church, Halstad, MN.

Burial: Will be at a later date.

West Funeral Home & Life Tribute Center  

westfuneralhome.com

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