Steven D. Balash

Husband. Dad. Papa. Coach. Yohan. Batman. And the Lord’s faithful servant.

Steve D. Balash went by many names over the span of 72 years before he was called home to heaven on February 2. Each name shared a different shade of the same man, devoutly dedicated to his wife, his family, his school, his community, and his Creator.

Steve was born in Gary, Indiana, to Stephen J. Balash and Mary Jane Moody Balash, but the lifelong Hobart Brickie proudly bled purple and gold. He left his beloved city only to attend college at Indiana State University before returning for his dream job and his dream girl. Jeannie and Steve married in 1970, exchanging vows with each other, and with God. “All my love, all my life,” they told each other countless times afterward.

In Hobart schools, Steve taught physical education, health, woodshop, and metals for nearly 50 years. In life, he taught boys how to become men, and kids how to become adults. He earned spots in the Indiana Football Hall of Fame and Indiana Wrestling Hall of Fame. He mentored thousands of students, never too busy to lend an ear or a hand. A gentle smile could always be found underneath his trademark mustache.

Steve enjoyed life’s simple joys: fishing alone with his thoughts and his maker; vacationing at the family’s Michigan cottage; shooting at pop-can targets on his daughter’s property; and annual spring break escapes to Disney World with his family. He also enjoyed life’s simple pleasures, such as watching old cowboy movies and mowing the lawn. “It’s so much fun to go outside and just cut the grass,” he would say.

Steve, a father of two daughters, loved telling typical “dad” jokes to anyone who’d laugh. He never took anything too seriously. He could make any task fun, any challenge rewarding. When music tunes popped into his head, he’d sing ‘em. His voice was better than his dad jokes. His favorite hobby was cherishing the hobbies of his wife and daughters. If they went shopping, he’d join them to carry their bags to the car; anything to spend more time with “his girls.” Steve, a lifetime member of Trinity Lutheran Church, had the strength of Samson and the patience of Job.

He passed away in his home, surrounded by his girls and a house filled with love.

Steve is survived by his wife of 51 years, Jeannie, his daughters Stefanie (Craig) Osika, of Hobart, and Heather Balash Overturf, of Wheatfield, and grandchildren Ava and Elle Osika. Other survivors include his brothers Joe (Tammy) Balash, of North Carolina, Fred (Kathy) Balash of Spencer, Indiana, and in-laws Barb Nabhan, Judy (Dennis) Biggs, Joel (Cherie) Wesley, Jane (Rev. Horst) Augustin, Joanie (Richard) Boyd, and Jan (the late Robert) Nastoff.

Visitation will take place Friday, Feb. 11, from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Rees Funeral Home, 600 W. Old Ridge Road in Hobart. Funeral services will be Saturday, Feb. 12, at 1 p.m. at The Crossing Church, 3440 W. 61st Avenue in Hobart, officiated by Rev. Sam Abbott and Rev. Gary Nagy, livestreamed on the church’s Facebook page, at crossing@nwi.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Hobart Food Pantry. In lieu of sadness, embrace joyfulness as Steve did in life.

“I guess I have fulfilled the Hobart saying,” he wrote in his journal from a hospital bed near the end of his life. “Once a Brickie, always a Brickie!”