We would love to know where this precious family is now, and we would enjoy corresponding with you.  We shall always remember living near you in Macon and seeing our children playing together.  George was a wonderful man, and he remains in our thoughts as do all of you.  Please let us hear from you.  Sandy Barrow


George, as we knew him  was a dear young man. He attended Auburn First Baptist Church with my cousin, Mack and I. They were in the same fraternity. I'm sorry to hear he is gone. My deepest sympathy for his family and friends.

Pop,

Sara is over in China right now.  I know you wouldn't have believed that I would let her go but she's there dancing with her dance company.  I'm sure you are watching over her and laughing at me turning in my sleep.  I've got your old Sony TV on my desk on top of your hutch and your paintings hanging on the wall.  I know you so well that I still hear you laughing and telling me jokes all the time.  So many people tell me how much they miss you but I feel your presence all the time.  Kind of how you know what somebody is going to say before they say it.  Looking forward to giving you a hug when I see you again.  I was so favored by God to have spent so much time with you.  You taught me so much, mostly about how to cherish life and the people around us.

Saw an amazing piece on John Rockefeller the other day, made me think about you.  Saw a video of the drunk guy dancing, made me think about you.  Cam Newton is having an MVP year, made me think about you.  Watching a couple of Rocky videos while working out, really made me think about you.  Watching the girls eat hummus and onions, made me think about you.  

Thank you for all the wonderful memories!
Bob

Happy Birthday Papa!!! Thinking of you always... But especially today. Xxoo

I am happy that I got to meet you, and overjoyed that you left behind children that make the world a better place each day.  A place filled with love and acceptance and kindness and humor.  You must be smiling.

Dear Meg,
I was so very sorry to get this news. I wanted to come to this guest book and sign it because I think the world of your Dad for what I know about him through you.  Your Dad lives on in you--in what you think matters; in how you go about living your life and contributing to your many worlds (professional, community, friendship); in the way you raise George, and how you go about knitting together the family for which he was the Pater Familias. Perhaps it will help to imagine your Dad watching on and enjoying (most of?) what you get up to because of the difference he has made to and in you.  The love you have for your Dad has helped make you the wonderful loving person you are.  

In my place of worst grief and shattering, the thing that finally got traction in my wild desolation was this idea from Henry David Thoreau: The only remedy for love is to love more.  Totally ok by me that I came across it as a fridge magnet.  If it appeals to you, I'll send you the same one.  

Your friend,
Catherine Admay (formerly Cathy Adcock)
Durham, NC

I love you pop. kezee shad gu serem. I miss you.

Remembering our  friendship in Memphis, Tennessee. My condolences.

Teresa Brundage
Peabody, MA

Dear Meg,

His life and his work can best be summed up in the words of the poet - "A thing of beauty is a joy forever."  He will be sorely missed but lovingly remembered.

Dear Bob, Meg, and Perry,
Please accept our deepest sympathy.  George was a dear friend and we miss him sorely.  Please know that our thoughts and prayers are with you.
Katherine & David Kalish

In the early years of our careers, George, Sammy Thompson, and I shared many lunches filled with laughs as well as much shared information as to our Architectural growing pains. We gave him help with "southern" english terminology which I am now sure was of NO help. I will always remember George as a friend and colleague.

George was a respected and admired colleague. He will certainly be missed.

Hello Meg,
I write to you because you were a friend of our son, John.  How well we remember you!  You were a wonderful playmate for John.  I have written before to say how sad we were to learn of George's death.  We have only happy memories of him.  Meg, please write and give me your e-mail address.  I would love to correspond with you.  Most sincerely, Sandy Barrow (John's mother)

I worked for George for 5 years and learned a lot from him.  He was a true professional and dedicated worker...  He will be missed.  RIP George.

My dear friend Mr. George....
When I transferred to the Kroger 
Supermarket here in Macon from Atlanta, I waited on him in the Deli. He noticed that I was new and introduced himself to me.  He was a breath of fresh air. We talked about many things in life especially my love for Real Estate and his love for his profession as an Architect.  I realized I hadn't seen him in a while so I searched for the business card he gave me some time ago and Googled his name ... I'm sad but honored to have had the chance to know this beautiful spirit.  Many blessings to you all.....

What a special person, so kind and caring. Sending love and sympathy to the whole Balian family.

Randy and Jay

23 years ago, George and I planted a squat little tree in a dark, dry, barren patch just off the railroad tracks near his home.  To be honest, I had little hope for the puny thing, lost among the dryness and the invading brush.  But, as with everything with George, I was happy to be there to do it--it was fun, it was funny, it was another adventure with George, always interesting, always unexpected.  George's last report was that the tree had risen to more than 30 feet tall, and it was still growing.  While I'm deeply saddened that he is gone, I know that George's influence still lives on in all of us.  With his generosity, his adventurous spirit, his humor, his creativity, his work ethic, his openness to all new ideas and new people and new things, and his consistent desire to welcome each new day with anticipation and optimism, George left all of us with an ideal and an example of how best to approach each new sunrise.  My thoughts are with Perry, Bob, and Meg during this difficult time.

Dear Bob, Meg, Perry and the Balian Family,

No gain saying I share your loss; you know that I do.  What you probably do not know is why your father's picture sits in my office and has for many years in a place of high honor. It is because Mr. Kevork ‘George' Balian was more than a business partner.  He ranks right up there with my own father, whose picture also sits in my office.  It's difficult to speak of him in past tense, but I'll try.

George always placed a high value on people...everyone he met, especially his family and friends, and most of all he never hesitated to lend a helping hand. He valued family over financial wealth as was evident in his dealings with his distant relatives overseas and with his unwavering effort to meet their needs whenever they called.  It was the same with friends and acquaintances that needed help with Immigration; he never wavered.  He was a gentleman.
George was the best architect I ever met, and I have worked with many.  He was a talented architect and a visionary painter and had a way of capturing others' vision and bringing them to reality.  He lived a life that was fairly care free, yet it had a seriousness and commitment that saw him accomplishing what God sent him to planet earth for. In the words of William Shakespeare, 
“…His life was gentle, and the elements
So mixed in him that Nature might stand up
And say to all the world, “This was a man.”

Good bye to George, and to his children, grandchildren and family I say please keep faith.  Your ‘Pop' was a believer all through his days, and he rests in the Lord now. You were blessed to have had him. He loved you and would want you all to be okay. 

Remain blessed,

Nony Mbaezue
Atlanta, GA

My condolences to the Balian family on the passing of George.  All the years I knew him he epitomized what a true gentleman is in how he talked and treated other people.  I thoroughly enjoyed all my encounters with him personally and professionally.  He will be missed.

Dear Meg & Perry and Balian family that I have not met yet, 
I am so sorry for your loss and you are all in my thoughts.
with love,
- Steven

Who will tell the teeming population of Abuja Nigeria residents that the designer of their most outstanding architectural piece-the Abuja mosque is gone. George has only passed. His works lives on the world's highstreets. Therefore he lives on. My condolences to the Balians and Aim Partners Plc.

George was one of the most talented individuals I have ever known. And he was a gentleman's gentleman. I have always admired people like George that came to this country to follow their dreams. Although I saw little of him in recent years, I considered him to be a true friend. Rest in peace, George.

My condolences and sincere sympathy go out to his family.

Charles Brittain
AIA Emeritus

Mr. Balian was a wonderful and kind man.I will always remember him fondly from my days at Tattnall Square Academy. Bob and Meg, I am sorry for your loss.

We were neighbors in the early 60s in Woodland Hills in Macon.  A dear man, a wonderful family.  Please accept our sincere condolences.  Sandy and John Barrow

George was an accomplished professional and gentleman. Met him through Nony his partner when he visited Nigeria. May God grant him peace, comfort and console his family as well as all that mourn his passing on. Va Ikeonu and family

May God bless you and your family in this time of sorrow.

You are in our thoughts and prayers. George was a real gentleman. So sorry for your loss.

We love you Pop. You were a wonderful man. Rest in Peace. The Perdue Family

Growing up in Macon I was able to get to know 'Mr Balian' (as we high-school friends of Meg called him).   I enjoyed hanging out in his home or Macon office with the other kids.  I will remember him fondly - not only as the architect who designed our church chapel at Northminster Presbyterian, but as a truly kind and thoughtful man.

OBITUARY

Kevork Misak Balian

November 11, 1932 – November 5, 2013

Snow's Memorial Chapel

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