Hi Gramps. So many memories. I remember when all the grandkids were up for the VBS week and I would hear you get up early to go to work.. I would get up and have breakfast with you before anybody else got up. That was our secret. We would always team up for horseshoes. We made good partners and we won lots of games together.  I also loved the camping trips, especially when all the cousins would come. All the family parties. I will always have you as my partner. I will always love you.   I miss you, Gramps.

Gramps,I remember when we would get together camping. We would always have so much fun. Making camp fires, going down to the lake, walking through the campgrounds, and you telling your jokes round the campfires. I love you Gramps.

Grandpa. Oh what a wonderful man my grandpa was. Always such an outdoors man. I always remember from when I was a little girl, taking long walks behind his house in Auberry and picking beautiful flowers for grandma. We would always find amazing things on our little adventures back there. VBS at his house...one week, was always one of my favorite weeks during summer vacation. Cousins, fun,and adventures, and crazy days. Always a happy outstanding man he was. Whenever we went somewhere we would stop and talk to at least five people, every time. He didn’t know all of them, he was just such a sociable person. and felt the need. Haha Everyone loved him, old and new. Grandpa, you came to so many of my sporting events growing up, and I treasured everyone of them. Your memories will always have a special and dear place in my heart. I love you Grandpa!!! 

As I think back on the time I spent with my grandpa it’s hard for me to pick a single specific memory to share.  There were so many great times.  What I remember most about my grandpa is the love that he had for his family. He loved us all. He was a man that made a point to bring our families together so we all could share great times as a whole. 

I thank him for the times we spent camping, summers in auberry with my cousins, and all the family reunions. They were always filled with fun.  A lot of crazy fun. He really knew how to throw a party. 
He loved to laugh. He loved to smile. And he loved to be happy. He always was. 

I will cherish the memories I had with him. They will stay with me forever and live on with my family. He created a solid foundation for our family and I can’t thank him enough for that.  He was the best grandpa I could have ever asked for. He was the epitome of what a grandpa should be. He was a special man. 

I will love and miss you forever. Until one day we will reunite again.  Walk with the lord. Love you always grandpa.      Brandon 

One of my fondest memories of my dad is when I was about 9 years old. My dad, just me and him, went to 8 Dinuba High School basketball games. Before some of the games we would stop by Grandpa and Grandma Balentine's house to visit. My dad seemed to always enjoy allowing me to accompany him. 
He taught me how to play baseball, in fact he coached me on teams growing up. He seemed to always have time for me. As I became old enough, I was able to play on the same fast-pitch softball teams as my dad. 
My dad was a great softball player, very fast. Seems like his teammates and even the players on the other teams always enjoyed and liked my dad. I wonder how many games he played in. Many years, I know. I probably went to most of his games. We would go on road trips and vacations to tournaments. 
By the way, I have been reading stories of my dad from various relatives, and they are all true. He was just great. I mentioned to my sister how happy he was in a picture we were looking at, and she replied "he chose to be happy and he married the right woman". He was always a fabulous role model for me. I am grateful for the love and care and protection he always gave me and my sisters and my mom. 
He was not as tender-hearted as I, but he, being a Dodgers fan, just created an unbreakable bond between us. Often he would be at home watching the Dodger game and I would be at home watching, and after we would call and talk about the game 2 or 3 or more times. We had a code and lingo that most people would not understand.
My dad was 83. I had him for 59 years, and nothing could have been better. I'll always love and miss you Dad. Save me a spot. 

Dad, I remember when we dug the big hole for the swimming pool. You gave us all shovels, even mom and told us to start digging. We would act funny and play around a lot but most of all we just complain and said no, we didn't want to dig anymore. I would look at the blisters on my hands and not want to dig that day. Then we started getting frogs and toads in the giant hole. You told us to just throw them up high over the edge. We would go out day after day for what seemed like hours at a time and dig. Then we started making camp fires in the bottom of the hole and cooked hot dogs and roasted marshmallows. I liked that part. Then the workmen came and finished the pool. I think I swam in it every day that summer. We also had a lot of swim parties with the CYG gang.
I love you dad. Thanks for everything.

DeeAnna and I came home one night late with news that we wanted to get married. Glenn & Mary were already in bed so we woke them up. When we told them the news, Glenn just started laughing. Mary was jabbing him saying this was not funny. But he kept on laughing. I later realized laughter was Glenn's way to get through pretty much any situation. And I loved that about him. Always fun to be around. Moving away from home soon after high school they took me in as their own. So many basketball and softball teams we played on together. So many wonderful family parties. But most of all, I remember the camping trips. So many places and so much fun. You had to get up pretty early in the morning to beat Glenn to the campfire. I never did. Always a smile waiting and a hot cup of coffee. Hours spent around the ring sharing thoughts and memories. If Glenn was camping, the camp fire was burning. He made famous the Death Valley omelet. One morning while camping there, gramps made breakfast for everyone. Eggs with a slice of bread cooked in a cast iron skillet. As each one was made, they seemed to be getting bigger. Finally, he made the last one for himself. It was a monument. Several slices of bread, all the rest of the eggs, cheese, and whatever else he could find. It filled the entire skillet. A true work of art.  And he ate the whole thing.  Anything for a good laugh. You will be greatly missed but fondly remembered.

I know Grandpa Glenn touched the hearts and lives of his children, his grandkids, and his great grandchildren, but I feel what stands out the most to me was the love he had for his wife Mary. When I reflect back on his life this is what impacted me. 
Starting off in the family at the beginning as Danny's girlfriend and later his wife I watched and listened to Glenn and Mary's relationship with one another. I loved attending the family functions which I had never experienced before. I was amazed at how Glenn and Mary would open up their home and host the family on a regular basis. Whether it be just a few people or fifty the love was there. As a party guru myself, I know how much time and energy is spent planning and hoping to deliver the best. They never batted an eye at making their family come together often. Them showing that much love for their family I can only imagine the love they had for one another. I would listen to how they spoke to each other and would watch how they would touch each other. This is what I want for my marriage. It was a prime example of not just talking the talk but walking the walk. 
Glenn and Mary took vows on August 4th. 1958. They both showed up and rode that roller coaster together until March 28th. 2019. Grandpa Glenn, you were a man to your word. Until death do us part. Let your example be more than a talk for Danny and I, let it be our walk. 

Gramps, where do I even begin. There are so many stories I want to share, but there is one that makes me laugh even telling it to this day. So, we went to the movies, a group of us,  me, and my Brothers Brandon and Dustin, gramps, grandma,  my mom and others. I sat by gramps and we were all excited to watch "Free Willy".  The movie was coming to an end and I hear sniffling,  I look over at gramps and I say, " gramps are you crying?" He says, "oh no, I have something in my eye and  I think I need to blow my nose. " We all started laughing, gramps was so happy that Willy was being freed at the end of the movie, it made him cry. He was such a strong man, a man who loved so big, grandma was his #1, he loved her so much and he made grandma his very first priority. He was a man of God, family reunions were always a love to him as well, he loved recording all the special memories, he loved telling jokes,and he loved to make new friends, wherever he was. I will never forget the whole week us cousins all spent up at their house in Auberry for VBS.  Gramps loved sports but baseball was his #1 sport. He came and watched my kids baseball, softball, soccer, football games, and watched Kaydence and Jessi cheer. I can count on 1 hand how many games he had to miss. Just 2 weeks ago he talked to all 5 of my kiddos on the phone. He told Caleb (our oldest) that he couldn't wait to see him play Jr. High baseball. Caleb's first Jr. High game was the day that  gramps went to be with Jesus,  and literally just about an hour before game time. I know that he was in Heaven with Babe Ruth watching his game.  Gramps wore his heart on his sleeve, when he prayed before a meal, he would get choked up😉, he laughed alot and his smile could light up a whole room. He was always the life of the party, and he lived his life to the fullest. Thank you gramps for loving all of us so big and teaching us that life is an amazing journey, enjoy the ride. Rest peacefully gramps,  I love you so much!!!!!

When I reflect back on Grandpa’s life it takes me back to his home in Auberry. All the fun summers we had as kids, all the crazy adventures, all the frogging, all the memories. Grandpa was at the heart of it all. One of so many memories I have was a croquet game grandpa set up on his from lawn, in the sprinklers. You couldn’t move from your ball until somebody won. Grandpa was right on a sprinkler and was laughing and screaming while the sprinkler blasted him. It was so funny I played my turn slow so he would have to suffer with the cold water. LOL All the little games Grandpa created to cause laughter and to make memories, he was truly a family man. I loved his laugh, especially when he'd tell a joke and start laughing at himself before the joke was done. Him and Uncle Stephen could have an entire room laughing with tears, laughing at nothing, just laughing to laugh. Hahaha! We camped together a lot. Most mornings I would wake up early and Grandpa was already sitting by the fire drinking coffee and eating a granola bar. We would sit together and tell jokes, talk about old times, talk about life. The campfire always set a good mood. He would always be in shorts!!! It could be 35 degrees out and he would be in shorts. Haha, I always thought that to be funny. He told me many times to never stop camping, and to never let that tradition die. If I could talk to him now I would tell him how important all those memories were to me. How important he was to me. Although gone from this earth he is still very much alive within me. I will never forget the kind of man he was and the examples he set. I love you Grandpa. 

Oh, my sweet grandpa. He is the picture perfect image of what a grandpa should be- filled with laughter, jokes, love, and awesome ideas. He taught me how to row a boat, catch frogs, ride goats, avoid getting kicked by a donkey, and how to bring grandma flowers. He taught me how to care about my cousins, how to love nature, how to appreciate and find the stillness of time. I will never lose the warmth in my heart that my grandpa brought to my life. I will never lose the image of the twinkle in his eye as he smiled with family or laughed at his own joke. He was always the loudest guy in the room, but also the funniest. I love him deeply, and my heart is with my grandma as she goes on with life without him. He was the greatest example of a grandfather,  a man who loved God, and a man who put his family first. I will miss him so much. It’s painful to think of life without him in it, but I also say goodbye to him with so much gratitude and thankfulness for his existence and influence in my life. I love you Grandpa. 

I have many great memories of Glenn and one of the most important memories for me was when he gave me his blessing to marry his beautiful daughter Cheryl. From that time on, he always made me feel like I was an important part of the family. We both loved sports, and usually ended up either talking about football or baseball, or playing basketball or horseshoes.We also had many spirited conversations about who was better, the Giants or the Dodgers. You’ll notice who I listed first, as it should be!!! Ha ha! The important thing was that as we spent time together we grew to love each other in a special  way.  I really felt like he thought of me as his son, and even though he almost gave me a heart attack one evening when he scared me by jumping out from behind a tree, I thought of him as my dad. And when my dad died, he was there to help ease the pain and fill the void. He truely loved Mary his beautiful wife,  and was a great provider and example for his family.I miss him so much already. I look forward to the day when we will be together again in heaven!

What was not to like about Glen. He was just what this World needed, a Happy, Hardworking Guy Dedicated to His Wife and Children. My Condolences to the Entire Family. RIP Glen 😪


My Dad went to be with the Lord on Thursday. So many of my family and friends know what a great guy he was and to many he was a great jokester. He always had a joke ready to get a chuckle out of someone. Two days before he died he told one of the doctors a joke. The one about marriage being about give and take. Ask me and I'll tell you that one some day. He was a friendly man, some called him "the shy guy" but we all knew that rarely showed up on him. Haha. He loved fast pitch softball and was very good, he played for many years. My dad loved the Dodgers, something he and my brother really had in common...not so much me. For over (60) years he called my mom "His Special Angel" a song sung by Bobby Vinton and he truly meant it. He loved camping, we grew up camping and had so many fun times sitting by the campfire at night, waking up in a tent with the fresh air, smell of coffee and bacon cooking. That is something we had in common. He love planning family get togethers and extended family reunions...something else we have in common. He loved us all being together, watching us have fun and laugh. Laugh for sure because he always had games, activities or tricks to play on us. I loved him very much and feel a huge hole in my heart at this time. But better than me loving him, I knew he loved me very much. He showed me, he told me, I saw it in the things he did for me. It was only two months ago that he was completing the last of (3) Family Movies-"Love Story 1, 2, 3" Each movie is approximately two hours long. He worked many months compiling old black and white movies, VHS movies, and photographs to create a family heritage film (DVD). He scheduled a date in February for all the grandkids to come watch Love Story #2 with him.I got to see him and mom extend their love to all the grandkids in this very beautiful way.  God's timing is perfect, he was surrounded by his family when he left to be with the Lord.

I played softball with Glenn from 1963 to 1970 with the Dinuba Condors. I played left field and Glenn played center field. He was an outstanding player both as a fielder and a hitter.  He made numerous tournament all star teams. He was always fun to play with, very competitive and always positive without criticizing anyone.  We kept in touch and often shared memories of our softball days. He was instrumental in a group of former softball players getting together that eventually organized to become the Central California Fast Pitch Softball Legacy Project. The group is dedicated to keeping  alive  the history of fast pitch softball.

The best way I can summarize Glenn as a softball player is that he would be my center fielder in an all star team,

I personally will miss Glen very much and wish to extend my sincere condolences to his family.

Dan Ramirez


OBITUARY

Glenn Leroy Balentine

December 13, 1935 – March 28, 2019

Boice Funeral Home

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