Gloria Bales

Family-Placed Death Notice

GLORIA LYN BALES Gloria Lyn Bales (maiden name - McWilliams) of Alpharetta, Georgia passed away Friday, June 25, 2004, 29 days before her 40th wedding anniversary. After surviving breast cancer diagnosed in 1990, undergoing chemotherapy and radiation therapy, she lived with increasing pain and debilitation from metastasis cancer from 1993 until her death. Living until age 62, she was born in 1942 on her mother's birthday, March 30 in Peoria, Illinois. She is survived by her husband, Jeff, son, Galen, daughter in-law, Maria-Theres, mother, Evelyn McWilliams and many loving relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her father, Wilbur McWilliams, and her brother, Galen McWilliams. After graduating from Chillicothe Township High School in 1960, she attended Patricia Stevens Modeling School in Chicago and then attended Diablo Valley Community Collee in California. Her career began as a model and after many years working for CPA's ultimately ended as an independent accountant. Among her passions, tennis and city architecture were at the top. She was a member of USTA and ALTA, winning many tropies for club titles and team titles in women and mixed doubles competition while at Rivermont Country Club. Her love for the style of Frank Lloyd Wright and the Chicago School of Architecture brought about her interest and eventual expertise in the history of these areas. She became a member of the Chicago Architectural Foundation, taking many trips to Chicago, New York and architectural tours of European cities. Choosing cremation, Gloria's ashes will be laid to rest in Lafayette, CA. Arrangements for Gloria include a memorial service in the chapel of Hospice Atlanta, 1244 Park Vista Drive, Atlanta, GA at 6:00 P.M., Thursday, July 15, followed by a reception for relatives and friends at The Ritz Carlton Buckhead, 3434 Peachtree Rd. A visitation and memorial service will be held at Weber Hurd Funeral Home, 1107 N. Fourth Street, Chillicothe, Illinois at 10:00 and 11:00 A.M., respectively on Saturday, July 17. A luncheon will follow at the Mossville United Methodist Church, 1015 E. Mossville Rd., Peoria, Illinois. It is Gloria's request that in lieu of flowers, contributions may be given in her memory to the Chicago Architectural Foundation, 224 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60604. Louie E. Jones Funeral Home, 59 N. Main St., Alpharetta, GA 770-475-6554.