BALSLEY, Lora (Gleason) 1860-1936

GLEASON, BALSLEY

Posted By: County Coordinator
Date: 8/26/2010 at 23:25:01

Mrs. Homer Balsley
Died January 11th
After Long Illness

Mrs. Homer Balsley passed away last Saturday afternoon, after an illness that had confined her to her home most of the time for the past five years. Her health had been steadily failing since the death of her daughter, Dorothy, who passed away at the age of 17, as she never recovered from the shock and grief of losing her youngest child. A son, almost grown to manhood, had died a few years before that.

Lora Gleason, daughter of Charles and Emily Whitney Gleason, was born in Diamond Lake, Illinois, July 22, 1860. He father died in the Civil War when she was 3 years of age.

When she was 9 years old her mother brought the family to Mitchell County, and they settled on a farm east of Orchard. She grew to womanhood there, and on November 15, 1882, was married to Homer Balsley.

Mr. and Mrs. Balsley established their home on a farm in Lincoln Township and resided there until they retired from active life and moved into Osage twenty-two years ago.

They were the parents of six children, two of whom preceded the mother in death. They were William, who died at the age of 15, and Dorothy, both mentioned above. Those who survive are: Mrs. Roy Smith, Little Cedar; Melvin, Osage; Clarence, Charles City; and Carl, Duluth, Minnesota. (Carl was home on Christmas to visit. He could not be reached in time for funeral services, as he was on his way to Florida on business.}

She is survived also by a brother, John, of Merriman, Nebraska, and a sister, Mrs. Kate Bannor, of Charles City; eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Funeral services were held on Tuesday afternoon at the Champion Funeral Home in charge of the Reverend John D. Kern, and burial was made in the Orchard Cemetery.

[Mitchell County Press, January 16, 1936]
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Photo of the Balsley family circa 1911.

Link to larger version of the photo
 

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