Alfred Balin

Alfred Joseph Balin Junior was born July 17,th 1935, in Ellsworth, Kansas. It was the midst of the Great Depression and his family was in the middle of the Dust Bowl, yet he doesn’t recall hardship of deprivation. On the contrary, he felt thankful for all his family had because he saw how much worse other families struggled. He was an only child, but had cousins and step family that extended his family. He would have been 80 years old this year and was dreading the “big party” that surely would have happened this July. When his father, Alfred Joseph Senior died, he immediately dropped the “Junior”; he may have done that because he hated the nickname of “Junior” when he was growing up. He didn’t mind being called Al, honey, “Hey You” or anything else, just not “Junior”.

He lived for some of his childhood on his grandparents (the Balins) farm and that was where he considered his “home”. He reminisced about the neighbors gathering, having a meal, and playing music. Harvest was the reason for these gatherings; farmers would help each other and then meet at the end of the day to share a meal and some entertainment. That was when he formed his great love of music. He branched from his country roots to blues and jazz in his later life. Some of his proudest moments were hearing the musical performances of his children and grandchildren.

He did not finish high school, but he valued education. Late in life he completed his

GED. He enjoyed tutoring children at McDermoth Elementary school and was proud of his children and grandchildren for continuing their education in college or furthering their skills.

He was a sweet and generous man who brought flowers for some of the senior ladies on their birthdays. One of those time really stands out: he had bought flowers for a lovely sweet woman who was turning 80. It brought tears to her eyes because it was the first time anyone had ever bought her flowers. He was teased for flirting with women, who always appreciated the attention of another person, especially if it was a man.

He enjoyed making dinner, but not breakfast. He preferred coffee and a paper for breakfast. Even in his last days, he insisted on reading his papers. He didn’t think you could start the day without seeing what was going on in the world, or at least Grays Harbor.

He enjoyed sports as well, especially baseball. He attended games as much as he could, even for extended family members. It was a special treat to go to a professional ball game, and he really enjoyed touring the Cleveland Indian’s baseball field on one visit to Cleveland. He was a good sport and went to some Indian’s games, but the Mariners were his home team.

He had a varied work life, starting out as a bellboy for a hotel when he was only 15 years old. It was during that job that he was shot, accidentally, and ended up temporarily paralyzed and then permanently with a limp and crooked back. He never let that get in his way of being active though.

He went on to work in a Feed and Supply store, did a weekly radio show, did bookkeeping for a store in Seattle, and then had his most well known job: theatre manager/owner. It was a good long run and he mentored so many employees through the theatres. He taught them values as well as giving them lifelong skills. He told all of his employees that if they were ever held up, just give them the money: no one’s life was worth any amount of money a thief may take. When the multiplex theatres put him out of business, he went to work at Harbor Electronics as a sales manager and salesman. His years of working at the theatres meant he knew so many people so that when he started working at the store, people would come to see him there. He was able to get many of them set up with computers and phones because they trusted him based on his long friendship with them.

He had a natural ability to work with people, yet he valued his privacy. It was a running joke in the family that there wasn’t anywhere you could go that there wasn’t someone who didn’t know him. Invariably someone would wave and say “Al”. He always smiled and graciously asked how they were doing even if he could not entirely remember who they were or how he knew them. He would ask enough questions to figure it out and then be able to carry on a more informed discussion. He was a master at hiding his fumbles. He might even dislike a person, yet he was still able to be friendly and gracious. He saw no need to be rude. He really tried to live the adage of treating others the way you wanted to be treated.

In his later years, he worked as the internal mail man for Anchor Bank, as a census worker, a driver for Meals on Wheels, and as a volunteer for numerous groups, including the Aberdeen Museum and Senior Center.

He is survived by his wife of nearly 40 years, Sharon Balin, and their combined 8 children, numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. We are all better for having known him.

Memorial services were held February 22nd at the Museum.

A card of condolence with a memory or a message may be sent to the family at www.fernhillfuneral.com

Arrangements were entrusted to Fern Hill Funeral Home, Aberdeen. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Alfred Balin, please visit our flower store.