Kris Steven Balch

Kris is survived by his partner Donna Layden; brother, Bill Balch; his 3 children, Abagail Lopez, Chris Balch, and Karl Balch; and 8 grandchildren, Jesse Balch, Emily Balch, Hailey Balch, Samantha Lopez, Sabrina Lopez, Alex Lopez, Mara Balch, and Kyan Balch.

Kris was born on May 25th, 1951 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to William Balch and Pauline Balch. He graduated from Cal-Poly-Pomona in 1974 with a degree in Electronic Engineering. His career as an engineer involved work with the US Navy, a long career with Eastman Kodak in the Motion Analysis Systems Division, followed by launching his own business, Vision Systems Technology in 2010 which he ran until his passing.

He is remembered as a humble, kind, creative, and loving father and grandfather who encouraged all to pursue their goals. He was supportive and very proud of the family’s accomplishments.

Kris was a true engineer and loved building things. He was a craftsman making unique furniture, stained glass, and pottery. He ran marathons, climbed mountains, scuba dived in the ocean, and traveled much of the world with work. Projects he built or worked on have been in hundreds of applications including being sent to space in satellites, used to make cars safer from crashes, and used in a science museum to educate.

He loved animals and had a gentle spirit. He once caught a squirrel that had been eating fruit from his trees at home, brought him to a nearby park to release him then decided he would rather keep the squirrel at home and brought him back home to release in the backyard. He said, “There is enough fruit for the both of us”.

He will be remembered for his quirky sense of humor, hard work ethic, humble demeanor, and his love for family and friends.