Glenn Robert Balli

Our dear husband, dad, grandpa, great grandpa, brother, uncle, church leader, and friend passed away peacefully on October 25th at age 94. He is predeceased by his parents, Frederich J and Clara Elizabeth Schwaar Balli, his three siblings, Fred, Rich, and Leone, sisters-in-law Bodell Balli and Yvonne Dahl, brothers-in-law Les Fredrickson and Monte Dahl, and and his great-grandsons, Samuel and Lincoln Hendriksen. He was born and raised in Salt Lake City. He attended East High School and the University of Utah, and served in the LDS Swiss-Austrian mission from 1949-1952.

Dad married our mom, DeNiese L Dahl on October 4, 1956, in the Salt Lake LDS Temple. They celebrated their 66th wedding anniversary just this month at their new home in The Legacy Village of Sugarhouse.

Dad began his career at The Pembroke Company. He then worked for Lane Furniture Company for many years and was proud to call himself “a furniture man”. After leaving Lane, he founded D&G Distributing, representing several furniture and gift lines throughout the intermountain area. Dad could look at any piece of furniture and easily determine the materials, style, and quality of craftmanship. He was, however, curious about many other and varied fields and studied them deeply, including rocks and minerals (he studied Geology at the U of U), Arrowheads, Coins, Antiques, Collectibles, Gardening, US and World History, Religion, and many other topics. He loved to study “his books” (always non-fiction), and though his hearing failed him early, his eyesight was perfect, which allowed him to enjoy this passion until the end.

As is common with “depression babies”, thrift stores and yard sales were a magnet to him. He couldn’t pass-up a $10 suit, a 25-cent fork, or a $1 vase, regardless of whether they fit or were needed. He would often say “Do you like this sweater (jacket, shirt, etc.)? I got it for $3 at Goodwill.” He wasn’t above “dumpster diving” when he noticed something “really special”. He would frequently purchase old or broken items, carefully repair or refurbish them, and gift them to his children and grandchildren. We often wondered how many of these items mysteriously returned to the shelves of Goodwill.

He took great pride in his yard, plants, vegetables, and flowers. He maintained his home and steep and complicated yard well into his 80s. It was terrifying to drive up to his home and see him shoveling deep and heavy snow from his very steep driveway at age 85.

Dad loved Christmas. His outdoor lights and indoor decorations were… “a lot”. Yet just last year, at 93, he still pulled out the boxes containing his “scaled-down” collection and enjoyed creating his display in our parents’ small townhome.

He loved watching team sports, particularly the U of U football and basketball teams and the Utah Jazz. A local game “blocked” on his TV could send him right over-the-edge. He also loved his “shows”. When mom tuned to “Dancing with the Stars” on the big-screen, Dad would head to his office to watch reruns he’d seen a hundred times of Gunsmoke, Bonanza, etc. on his tiny black and white TV.

Dad loved people and enjoyed life-long friendships in multiple card groups and dinner clubs. He was the life of the party, loved to tease, tell great stories and jokes, and had an engaging sense-of-humor. He fancied himself a “charmer” of tellers at his bank, clerks at the store, and waitresses at restaurants, much to our mother’s chagrin.

Dad was a knowledgeable and spiritual life-long member of the LDS church and served in many church roles throughout his life. He was a member of several bishoprics in the Parley’s 5th and Monument Park 11th wards. In addition to fulfilling a full-time mission in his youth, he was also a ward and stake missionary, a ward and stake mission leader, and a member of stake missionary presidencies in the Bonneville Stake, Monument Park Stake, and Liberty Stake. He was a sunday-school teacher, served on the Stake Sunday School Superintendency, and as Sunday-School President in the Monument Park Stake. He was a stake family history coordinator and worked in German extraction. He served as high priest group leader and as ward employment specialist in the Monument Park 11th Ward. He was a committed home teacher, and a dedicated temple worker and patron. Importantly, he was a valued teacher and advisor of young men, both in church and scouting, in many wards and stakes over many years.

To our benefit (and occasional detriment), Dad gifted his children with a commitment to hard-work and sacrifice, as well as a deeply ingrained, unyielding, Swiss-German stubbornness we all endeavor to address.

We are grateful for his life and example.

Glenn is survived by his wife, DeNiese, his children Karli Sorenson (Carl), Doug (Rob Blackhurst), Mike (Shawna), Barbara Hansen (Jon), Lori Taylor (Joe) and Janalyn Arbon (Mike), as well as 22 grandchildren, 47 great-grandchildren (with a few more on the way), and many other relatives and friends.