Norma Balthazar

Norma Eugenia Balthazar passed away peacefully on December 30, 2017 in Denver, Colorado at the home of her daughter and son-in-law, Suzie and Keith McVaney. She was 88 years old.

Norma was born on February 17, 1929 to Vang and Magda Hansen in Brooklyn, NY. She was proud of her Norwegian heritage, loved her hometown of Brooklyn and cherished childhood memories of growing up there.

Upon graduation from Bay Ridge Highschool in 1947, she took a job at Union Carbide. It was there that she met the love of her life, and husband of 61 years, Robert Joseph Balthazar. Norma and Bob began their married life in New York but relocated their growing family to Atlanta, Georgia in the summer of 1963. They bought a home in the newly developed neighborhood of Embry Hills where they raised their four daughters. They joined the Embry Hills Swim and Tennis Club and made many life-long friends there. Norma and Bob often referred to this time in their lives as living in Camelot.

Norma was a "lady" in the truest sense of the word, and an extraordinary woman. She greeted everyone with her warm welcoming smile and always put the needs of others before her own. She was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother. Norma was always elegant in appearance, had impeccable taste and a love for beautiful things. She was a wonderful gourmet cook, an excellent seamstress and dressmaker, and an exceptional home maker. Her home always looked like a page in a magazine. She loved plants and flowers and spent many hours creating a garden that was worthy of garden tours. She loved crafts and developed a deep passion for the art of quilting. The underside of her quilts were as beautifully done as the top side. She was a member of the Yellow Daisy Quilt Guild. She and her fellow guild members created a quilt displayed at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. The color blue was Norma's signature color.

Words cannot convey how much we miss her, but we continue to marvel at the amazing life she led, the lessons she imparted and the beautiful example of grace, elegance, and courage she set for us. Norma is survived by her daughters Lorry Buck, Barbara Blazer, and Suzie McVaney; her sons-in-law Robert Blazer and Keith McVaney; her sister Eleanor Gleason; her niece and nephew Jennifer and Mark Bruen; her grandchildren, Suzie Wilson (Trey), Robby Rudasill (Lacey), Jessie Buck, and Joey Buck (Whitney); her precious great grandchildren Brodie, Brennon, Brooklyn, Peyton, Reagan, Saylor, and Mary Lyla. She was preceded in death by her parents Vang and Magda Hansen, her brother Richard Hansen, her husband Robert Joseph Balthazar, and her daughter Nancy Balthazar Rudasill.

There will be two Memorial Services held for Norma:

Denver, CO: February 10th, 2018 at 3:30pm at GracePoint Community Church, 90 East Orchard Road, Littleton, CO 80121.

Atlanta, GA: February 17th, 2018 at 4:30pm at The Little Chapel, Glenn Memorial Church UMC, 1660 N. Decatur Rd., Atlanta, Georgia 30307.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Norma Smiles (www.normasmiles.org), a non-profit organization created in Norma's honor to address the issues surrounding eldercare so prevalent in our society today. Norma Smiles mission is to honor our elders, promote the quality of care that they receive, and invest in the lives of those called to serve them.