George Nicholas Balthazar

George Nicholas Balthazar, born on July 2, 1940 was the only son among the four daughters of Senolia Delphin and George Balthazar of Cane River, LA. The 3 older sisters were delighted when he arrived – one might think he had 4 mothers, they coddled him so and immediately nicknamed him “Baby Brother,” a term of endearment they kept for him until they and the Cane River cousins eventually shortened it to simply “Brother.” When he had nieces and nephews, he became “Uncle Brother.”

Enjoying his “Favored Son” status, George grew up in Houston’s historic Fifth Ward and the family attended Our Mother of Mercy Catholic Church where he was an Altar Server for much of his childhood. He attended Our Mother of Mercy School until 9th grade, but graduated from Phillis Wheatley High School, where he achieved All-City, All-District, and All-State Football honors. This was the beginning of a long career in sports. He was awarded a football scholarship to Tennessee State University in Nashville, TN., where he pledged Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. and played football throughout his college career. George was the first player in TSU’s history to play in the All-American Bowl. He subsequently became the first TSU player to be drafted by the professional football league and spent one year with the Pittsburgh Steelers and one with the Minnesota Vikings. He acquired his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from TSU and then returned home to begin a long and successful coaching and teaching career at his high school alma mater, Phillis Wheatley High School. For the next 24 years to come, George would coach Football and Swimming and teach Business Education, which at the time included typing. Through the years, many of his students would later recount how he would rap on their knuckles if they looked down at their hands while typing (it was his signature move), but all said they typed better because of it.

On July 29th, 1967, George wed Anne Deborah Alexander in Houston, TX. Their greatest blessings included three daughters; Antoinette Nicole, Anne-Marie, and Angelique Celeste. Years later, Angee would wed Joseph Obiri and through their union, George would have two grandchildren, Samuel Alexander and Gabriella Grace, whom he adored.

Long before George retired from teaching and coaching at Wheatley, he pursued his passion of photography…he was both a natural at it and a dedicated student of the craft. He and his longtime friend, R.C. Robinson and their wives (Anne and Linda) opened a small photography studio that prospered. When the partnership dissolved, he and Anne opened their own studio, The Gallery Balthazar, Photographers and voila…their new careers were launched! He retired from coaching and teaching to pursue photography full time. Theirs was a small family-run business, that would include Weddings, Family, and Children’s Portraiture, but over the next 35 years the studio was best known for its distinctive Senior Portraits and Prom Photography. George was a Certified Master Photographer and won many awards and accolades during his photographic career. One of his most prized accomplishments was being named ‘Master Photographer of the Year’ by the Professional Photographers Guild of Houston for his work, ‘Tres Hermanas,’ a stylistic portrait of his three daughters, that received a near perfect score in photographic competition.

During his second retirement, George reconnected with his TSU alumni group (‘adopted’ a group of alumni ‘Sons’) and spent lots of time at Homecoming functions and Alumni events in Nashville; these were some of his favorite times. He was also inducted into both the Prairie View Interscholastic League Coaches Association and the Tennessee State University Hall of Fame for his accomplishments at both Wheatley and TSU…these were honors he cherished.

‘Papa George’ as his grandkids called him, was also known for his love of duck hunting, Chesapeake Bay Retrievers, and his cooking…a skill he greatly improved in later years. Growing up, his girls especially enjoyed when he made pancakes in the shape of their initials, his fried pork chops, salmon croquettes, and especially his boiled crawfish.

Anyone who knew him knew about his love for Facebook. He would post many pics to chronicle his life, his career, TSU, his family, and his friends. A retirement hobby he picked up was “computer painting” some of the portraits he had taken over the years, as well as other images on the internet that spoke to him. He was also probably one of the very first to go to Facebook jail! Friends and TSU classmates alike loved George’s quirky sense of humor and Facebook shenanigans…he was infamous for his antics and would definitely get a lot of comments and likes, which encouraged and delighted him…but would cause his daughters to “eyeroll!”

Over the last three years when his health conditions worsened, Anne (Debbie) became his medical advocate. It drew the family closer together; and in the end, Debbie & George parted as friends. In his last days, he was also able to have some sweet conversations with his girls and with some of his special “longtime old friends.”

George is survived by Debbie, his daughters Toni, Annie, and Angee (Joseph), grandchildren Sammy and Gabby, and sisters Leocadia, Seline (Mack), Emma Lee, and Bridget. He is also survived by a host of nieces, nephews, in-laws, family and countless Facebook friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, Senolia and George Sr.

“Fly High and God Bless, Big George!”