Obituary of Grace M. Balint

Grace M. Matte Balint, 90, of Stuyvesant Falls, New York, passed away peacefully on May 8, 2023. Born in Hudson, N.Y., June 16, 1932, she was the daughter of the late Gustave Matte and the late Elizabeth Brough. Grace graduated from Hudson High School in June of 1950, where she met her one and only love, Donald Balint, with whom she shared most of her life. Grace was an active member of the Stuyvesant Falls Fire Auxiliary for many years. She was a past president of the ladies Auxiliary, and secretary of the Stuyvesant Falls Fire Commissioner for 35 years. Grace enjoyed people very much, especially children, holding various positions as a 4H leader and a little league baseball coach; but perhaps her most loved endeavor was her career as a bus driver for Pulcher's Motors. Grace loved deeply all the children that had ever ridden her bus, and often treated them as her own. Grace's pure love for life and for all of those she crossed paths extended deeply throughout her community. One of her proudest accomplishments was the 2018 publishing of her book that she spent many years working on, "Stuyvesant Falls: The Way It Was." Grace loved to sing and often took the opportunity to do so, even near her last days of life. She had a special knack for making people laugh and feel loved, and her radiant and bubbly personality will be sorely missed by all who knew and loved her. Grace adored and cherished her family above all else. She is survived by her five children, Cathy (Fred) Eggleston, Donald Balint, Robert Balint, Dale Balint, and Sharon Svingala; her loving sister, Barbara Delamater; 14 grandchildren, and many great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and friends. She is predeceased in death by her husband of 60 years, Donald Balint; father, Gustave Matte; mother, Elizabeth Brough; and sister, Betty Jean Moore. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Stuyvesant Falls Fire Company, 9 Firehouse Lane PO Box 56, Stuyvesant Falls, N.Y. 12174. The family wishes to extend their deepest gratitude to the 2A and M4 staff at Columbia Memorial Hospital, who cared for Grace during her last weeks of life. A funeral service will be held at Raymond E. Bond Funeral Home on Thursday, May 11, at 11am with Reverend Dan Cohn officiating. Burial will follow at West Ghent Reformed Church, 1039 County Route 22, Ghent, N.Y. 12075. Calling hours will be held at Raymond E. Bond Funeral Home on Wednesday, May 10, from 3pm-7pm.