1929 – 2017

Matilda ‘Mat’ Balch died peacefully October 13, 2017 at the Marjorie Willoughby Snowden Memorial Hospice Home in Kamloops, BC after a short battle with cancer. She is survived by her loving sons James ‘Jim’ (Anita), Vancouver, BC and Michael, Winnipeg, MB; Jim’s daughter Heather, Vancouver; her brother John Flegel and sisters Anne Pflieger and Theresa Graf, Kelowna, BC; many nieces and nephews; her estranged husband Dick, Kamloops, and her many wonderful and caring friends throughout Kamloops.

Mat was born November 22, 1929, the youngest of eight children, to Frank and Rose Flegel in Dubuc, SK. In 1944 she with her brothers Adam, Joe, and John, and sisters Mary, Julia, Anne, and Theresa moved with their parents to an orchard in Rutland, BC where the family farmed until retirement in Spring 1954. After marrying in Vancouver, BC in 1953 and some time in Kelowna, Mat settled in Kamloops, BC to work and raise a family.

Mat worked as a secretary and bookkeeper at several Kamloops businesses over the years including Kamloops Datsun and Hunter Jebson Clarke, until a sudden illness forced her into an early retirement. Once recovered, she devoted herself to family, friends, and fitness, actively taking up golf, bridge, and lawn bowling. In her later years she was a beloved regular at the Tournament Capital Centre running track where she loved to walk and visit, and made many friendships with the staff and patrons.

Mat requested no service, and cremation was provided by Alternatives Funeral & Cremation Services. Her family asks that if desired, donations be made in her memory to the Kamloops Hospice Association or the Canadian Cancer Society.

Condolences may be expressed at www.myalternatives.ca

• Date : 2017-10-13
• Location : Kamloops, B.C.