Marion Mae Balster passed away on August 19, 2021 at the age of 101, peacefully, at home in her apartment after a full and happy life, grounded in family and faith. She faced a relatively short decline from dementia with courage and cheerfulness. She is survived by her son Robert Balster and his wife Sandra from Richmond, Virginia and by her granddaughter, Sarah Balster from Humboldt County, California, her sister Dorothy Whiting of Ashland, Wisconsin, and many nieces, nephews, and cousins. She was preceded in death by her husband Louis Balster in 2008 after 65 years of loving marriage. And together, they survived the tragic accidental death of two of their children, Beverly age 12 and David age 7 in Silver Creek Minnesota in 1961. Marion was the daughter of Arnold and Winnie Vandergon of Maple Lake Minnesota. She also outlived her sisters Joyce and Phyllis and her brother Bud. The extended Vandergon and Balster families were very close. Marion was especially close to her sister Dorothy Whiting. They spoke with each other on the phone nearly every day after the children died. Marion and Dorothy’s daughters, Beth Smith and Pat Whiting, were very close. Her good friends Marilyn Keillor and Sharon Nelson were there for Marion until the very end, and Gayle Herwig was part of her extended family for many years. Marion has an especially close and loving relationship with her granddaughter Sarah, who was able to visit from California for a wonderful time of communion shortly before she died.
Marion was born on May 15, 1920. She graduated from Annandale High School and then graduated from Northwestern Bible College in Minneapolis. She married Louis in 1943 and began her family with the birth of Bob in 1944. They settled in the Minneapolis area and lived most of their lives in St. Louis Park. They happily spent their senior years at the Calvary Center Cooperative in Golden Valley, where they made many good friends and memories.
Marion had a remarkable faith in Christ and was active for many years in the St. Louis Park Evangelical Free Church of which she was one of the founding members. For many years she served as the Sunday School Superintendent for the church and played a very active role in the life of the church. After raising her family, Marion worked for many years for the Billy Graham Evangelical Association, helping to answer the massive volumes of mail that was received as part of their evangelical work. The Louis and Marion Balster Scholarship was established at Trinity University to support Christian education and in 2008 they supported the development of the Louis and Marion Balster Clinical Chemistry Unit at Tandala Hospital in the Congo.
Marion had the benefit of outstanding care in her last years, as her dementia worsened. She had a series of caring and loving home health care workers who made her happy and comfortable until the very end. Maude, Eliza, Schola, Fatu and Bette of Home Care Solutions deserve special mention for their excellent loving care. She had entered the hospice program of Park Nicollet in May and not enough can be said about how professionally and compassionately she was cared for.
Marion will be remembered for her concern for others, her sense of humor, her generosity of spirit, her devotion and love of family and friends. She was never late for anything in her life, and can be pictured with coat on, and purse ready to go, long before needed to get where she was going. It is ironic that she waited 101 years to keep her appointment with heaven. A Memorial Service will be held at 1 pm on September 8 at the Calvary Lutheran Church, 7520 Golden Valley Rd, Golden Valley, MN 55427 with a reception to follow. All guidelines to prevent the spread of the COVID virus will be followed. The service will be streamed at https://vimeo.com/event/736404. In lieu of flowers please donate to a charity that you think Marion would support.