Opal Flora Balfe - Obituary

pal Marcella Flora Balfe, 98, a resident of Pompano Beach, Fla., died February 10 of natural causes at Ginger Cove in Annapolis. Mrs. Balfe was the second of five children born to Emma and Noah Flora at their family's homestead, Long Lane Farm, a Hoosier Heritage site near Flora, Ind. When she was 13, she and her family moved to Lakeland, Fla. She attended Lake County schools and upon the family's return to Flora in l927, graduated from Flora High School in l930 before attending Manchester College, Manchester, Ind. Due to the Depression, her college was interrupted. She worked as an office assistant in the State House in Indianapolis for the Works Progress Administration (WPA), begun by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in l932 and was proud to meet and shake hands with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. After her marriage to George Balfe in l937, she resided in Lafayette, Ind., where she enjoyed neighbors, friends in her bridge and Tourist clubs, and her volunteer work with her children's schools and scouting troops and in community organizations, including the St. Elizabeth's Hospital Auxiliary. She served as President of the Kappa Chapter of Delta Theta Tau that supported the Wabash Center, a school for developmentally disabled children. As a breast cancer survivor, she also volunteered for the Tippecanoe County chapter of the American Cancer Society. She supported many causes that uplift, heal and educate people both here and overseas. In 2008, she was recognized for her lifelong generosity with a Rotary International Paul Harris Award. Mrs. Balfe and her husband retired to Florida in l974 after touring Asia, Central and South America, Europe and the Middle East. In South Florida, she volunteered for the Hospice of Broward County, Fla. and the Gold Coast United Way where in l991 she was recognized for her exemplary service. She attended the First Presbyterian Church in Ft. Lauderdale and at Ginger Cove, she participated in the Religious Life Committee and enjoyed attending the ecumenical services. Mrs. Balfe also took pleasure in attending Annapolis Symphony Orchestra concerts. She is preceded in death by her husband, George; and her four siblings, Edith Richardson, Robert Flora, Richard Flora and Betty Thompson. Survivors include her son, George Dan Balfe and his wife Linda of Cambria, Calif.; her daughter, Tara Balfe Clifford of Edgewater; grandchildren, Dave L. Balfe of Redwood City, Calif., Cynthia Balfe and her husband Michael Landry and daughter, Alyssa Balfe Landry of Tyngsboro, Mass., Kristen Balfe Bubb and her husband Larry Bubb of San Diego, Calif., Carolyn Balfe of Pacific Grove, Calif., Kathleen Balfe of Granada, Spain, Marianne Balfe of Berkeley, Calif.; step-grandchildren, Darby Clifford Rosengren and her husband Jarl and children Philip and Maria of Helsinki, Finland, John Clifford and son Parker of Annapolis, Keely Clifford and her husband Bruce and daughters Morgan and Keegan Sweeney of Paris, France; sister-in-law, Mary Oyler Flora of Kokomo, Ind.; and many beloved nieces and nephews, great nieces and great nephews. The family will host a celebration of Opal's life at 7:30 p.m. March 25 in the Friendship Room of Ginger Cove, 4000 River Crescent Drive, Annapolis, MD 21401. Final committal service will occur in August in Lafayette, Ind. Memorial contributions may be made in her name to the Ginger Cove Foundation for the Employee Scholarships Fund, 4000 River Crescent Drive, Annapolis, MD 21401, www.foundation@gingercove.com; or to the Balfe Clifford Family Nurses Scholarship Fund at the Anne Arundel Medical Center Foundation, 2001 Medical Parkway, Suite 240, Annapolis, MD 21401, www.aahs.org. Arrangements by the George P. Kalas Funeral Home, Edgewater. Please sign the family's guestbook on line at www.Kalasfuneralhomes.com.