Dorothy Marie (Morosky) Balon

Dorothy Marie Balon (nee: Morosky), age 85, of Rockville Maryland passed away on Friday, December 9, 2022 at Lorien Harmony Hall Assisted Living Center of Columbia MD. Dorothy was born January 23, 1937 in Forest City, Pennsylvania, a second-generation Polish-American. The daughter of Stanley Michael and Helen Catherine (Zalesky) Morosky, Dorothy was the youngest of five children growing up in a small coal mining, lumber and timber-milling town. After graduating from Forest City High School in 1955, Dorothy completed several courses in sales and retailing with Temple University Teachers College in 1956-1957, afterwards receiving a diploma in 1959 from Integrated Machine Bureau Inc., in operating principles of the IBM office tabulating computers of the period. She worked for a short time as a J.J.Newberry store-clerk in Carbondale PA and an office book-keeper in Forest City’s Bloxham Lumber Company where her father worked. Affectionately nicknamed “Dot”, she was surrounded by a large network of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins from both the Morosky and Zalesky families. Church and family instilled in Dorothy her Polish-Catholic heritage.

In 1960 while visiting her sister Theresa and her husband (Bob Beautz), an airman in the U.S. Air Force also from Forest City PA, Dorothy met Bob’s friend and fellow airman of similar Polish heritage, John Edward Balon. Dorothy and John married on St. Patrick’s Day in 1962 in the base chapel at Sheppard AFB in Wichita Falls TX, while both airmen were stationed there as Air Force instructors. From Texas, the families expanded. Dorothy and Theresa, along with their families, remained close with strong family bonds due to their common Morosky heritage and Air Force deployments. In subsequent deployments, the two families were stationed together later in Illinois. In 1981 with both husbands retired from the Air Force, Dorothy and Theresa with their families settled in Rockville Maryland.

For over 40 years in Maryland, Dorothy created a loving home for her family. She was predeceased by her husband who passed away in August 2021. Dorothy was John’s lifelong wife of 59 years and a devoted mother. She instilled the importance of family in her children and grandchildren, who were central to her life. All of Dorothy’s and John’s children were named after St. Gerard, the patron-saint of mothers and children. She enjoyed cooking and baking, and hosting family meals, celebrating many birthdays and holiday gatherings. Dorothy, inspired by St. Francis of Assisi, cherished many dogs and cats as pets, and appreciated the wildlife that frequented the woods in her backyard. She will be deeply missed.

Dorothy was preceded in death by her brothers, Michael, Milfred, and Hubert, and her only sister, Theresa, who passed away in June 2022.

She is survived by son Kevin Gerard Balon and his wife Charlotte Jones Balon of Columbia MD and their son John Richard Balon (with his wife Leigh) and Mark Ryan Balon; daughter Katherine Gerise Kelley and her husband Dennis “Butch” Ray Kelley Jr. of Spencerville MD and their daughters Grace Marie Kelley and Tess Gerise Kelley; daughter Gerette Teresa Marie Balon of Gaithersburg MD and her children Lucas Chadwick Jacobson, Alexis Marie Jacobson and Nicolas Gerard Jacobson. Dorothy is also survived by her many nephews, nieces and extended family.

Memorial services will be private.

Her ashes will be interred along with those of her husband John in the St. Louis Cemetery / Columbarium in Clarksville, MD.

The family wishes to extend heartfelt appreciation to the caregivers and staff who provided care to Dorothy at the Lorien Rehabilitation Skilled Nursing and the Lorien Harmony Hall Assisted Living Facilities as well as Gilchrist Hospice, of Columbia MD.

Dorothy supported the Humane Society; please consider memorial donations to:The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS): Online: https://secured.humanesociety.org/page/83122/donate/1

To contribute by mail:Please send a personal check or money order made payable to the HSUS to: The Humane Society of the United States1255 23rd Street, NW, Suite 450Washington, DC 20037