Jean Balgoyne

Emogene “Jean” Balgoyne, age 100, died on November 8th, 2024.  Jean was born in 1924, Grand Rapids, Michigan. She was preceded in death by her husband, Philip Oltman Balgoyne, her father and mother, Raymond and Violet Levett, her sisters, Kathleen Meissner and Marilyn Patterson, her brother Milo Dale Levett, her daughter Susan Van Liere of Grand Rapids, Michigan, her granddaughters, Lauren and Shannon Freese, and Tara Matko.  Jean is survived by her son John (Patricia) Tracey of Westville, Indiana; her daughters Jane Tracey of Oceanside, California, Beth Freese of Grand Rapids, Michigan and Ann (William) Matko of St. Louis Park, Minnesota, her eight grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and many nephews and nieces.

Jean was a 1942 graduate of South High School, Grand Rapids, and earned a B.S. from Western Michigan University and M.A. from Michigan State University. She taught in the Kent County and Grosse Pointe Schools, retiring after thirty years as a reading and elementary teacher from Wyoming Public Schools, Wyoming, Michigan. She was an active Life member of the Michigan Education Association, the Beta Omicron Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma International, and Grand Valley Artists.

Jean and Philip were members of Wesley Park and Shelby United Methodist Churches. They resided nine years in Sebring, Florida, and at their Stony Lake home in Shelby, Michigan, before moving to the Clark Retirement Community in 1993.

In lieu of flowers the family suggests memorial contributions to the Alzheimer's Association or Clark Foundation. A memorial service will be held 11am on Saturday, November 16, 2024 at the Metcalf & Jonkhoff Funeral Home where the family will greet friends for half an hour prior to the service from 10:30am to 11am.  Interment will be at Oak Hill Cemetery, Grand Rapids.

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