Obituary of Shirley J. Balch

August 7, 1930-October 8, 2023

Shirley J. Balch passed away peacefully at home on October 8, 2023. She was born on August 7, 1930, in Orange, N.J., the daughter of Frank and Florence Conner.

Shirley attended West Orange High School and after graduation, was hired by the Patent Department of Bell Laboratories in Manhattan, N.Y. She later left N.Y. and worked at Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, N.J. where she met, and later married, her late husband Hugh.

Shirley resided in Morris Plains, N.J. with her family for forty years before moving to coastal Maine in 2003.

Shirley is survived by two children, Lauren Kerekes of New Jersey; Gary and his wife Maggie Balch of Florida; one grandson, Robert John Balch of Pennsylvania; and three great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held on Monday, October 30, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in Belfast. Graveside service and burial will be held thereafter at Maine Veterans Cemetery in Augusta.  Memories and condolences may be shared on her tribute wall.