Alice Marie (Balazic) Henry

Alice Marie Henry

September 9, 1929 ~ January 24, 2015

On our individual life timeline, there are usually peaks and valleys, places that are marked by life altering events, where time is absolutely divided into before this and after this. On Saturday, January 24, 2015, another was added to our timeline with the passing of our beloved mother, Alice Marie Henry, 85. The truth is...we are heartbroken.

Alice was born September 9, 1929 in Benton Harbor, MI to the late John and Catherine (Vuchko) Balazic. She was married to Graham Henry for over 50 years before his passing on February 5, 2013. She was also preceded in death by her sister, Rozina Conger; and her brother Balthazar Balazic.

Growing up Alice worked on the family farm while attending school. Alice graduated from St John’s High School and then was employed by Whirlpool as a secretary. Alice, along with her husband Graham, operated ABC Janitorial Services for over forty years. Theirs was a successful partnership, both personally and professionally.

Surviving Alice are her daughters, Kathleen (Ron) VanderMolen of Granger, Lynne (Mike) Hamilton of Granger and Kim (Tom) Brady of Mishawaka; grandchildren, Cole (Jourdan) VanderMolen, Colin & Connor VanderMolen, Maxwell, Catherine & Jackson Hamilton and Jordan, Aaron & Drew Brady and one great grandson, Micah.

Throughout the course of our lives, through childhood and now middle age, our mother was always, always there. Growing up, our father worked more often than not, but our mother was always there. Alice was the room mother, the field trip chaperone and assisted with whatever else needed to be done. She was involved and dedicated to her girls. She was a prayer warrior and counselor applying the “just between us” rule when necessary.

It has been said that a mother’s heart is the child’s classroom. We thank God for all that she has taught us. She is a portrait of a godly mother and we are proud to be her daughters. Mom taught us how to endure. She told us to never quit - no matter what. Through her example of endurance in the face of adversity, we learned to keep going. We witnessed our mom’s constant devotion to, and love for, our dad. It wasn’t always easy. There were certainly hardships, but giving up was not an option. We will cherish and remember how blessed we are that we were provided with such a loving example of what a wife, daughter, sister and woman should be. We were the lucky ones. We had an amazing mom. “All that I am or hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother”. - Abraham Lincoln.

Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 9:00 am Thursday, January 29, 2015 in St. Joseph Catholic Church, 226 N. Hill Street, South Bend. Graveside services and burial will follow in Fairview Cemetery, Mishawaka. Friends may visit with the family from 4:00 - 7:00 pm Wednesday, January 28, 2015 in the Palmer Funeral Home - Hickey Chapel, 17131 Cleveland Road, South Bend, where scriptures will be read at 4:00 pm.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be donated to St. Joseph Catholic Church. Online condolences may be left for the Henry family at www.palmerfuneralhomes.com.

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