Joseph J. Balazs

Joseph J. Balazs
Funeral Mass for Joseph J. Balazs, 80, of Willoughby, will be 11 a.m. Wednesday, May 7, at Immaculate Conception Church, 37940 Euclid Ave., Willoughby.
Joseph passed away Tuesday, April 29, 2025, at U.H. Lake West Medical Center in Willoughby.
He was born Jan. 10, 1945, in Painesville, Oh.
Joe was a kind, soft-spoken, prayerful man. He was among the first parishioners at Immaculate Conception Church chosen by Fr. Curran to be a Eucharist Minister. Joe proudly served at Mass, as well as taking Communion to the shut-ins for many years.
He taught school for 30 years in the Cleveland Public Schools. Since Joe was a teen, his Saturdays and summer days were spent at Hilo Farms in Mentor, being a jack of all trades. After his retirement, Joe drove Dial-A-Ride for Laketran.
Joe loved everything about railroading and took a number of long Amtrak trips across the eastern United States.
He loved his church, his extended family and most of all, his children, Joe and Ann.
Joe was the beloved husband of Estelle (nee Valentino) Balazs; loving father of Joe and Ann Balazs; brother-in-law of Loretta Graziano, Nick and Patricia Valentino; and uncle of Michael, Paulette, Nikole and Mia Valentino, Mike, Melissa, Colin and Madelyn Downs and John, Josephine, Diane, Patrick, Christian and Brianna Trotta.
Although most of his Balazs and Santone/Smith family are scattered across the country, they were always in his thoughts.
Rest in peace Joe and pray for us.
Family will receive friends from 3 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 6, at McMahon-Coyne-Vitantonio Funeral Home, 38001 Euclid Ave., Willoughby. Burial to follow the Mass at Willoughby Memorial Gardens in Willoughby.
To leave condolences for the family or to order flowers, visit www.MCVfuneralhomes.com.