Service for Steve Balog

 

Steve Balog, 1955-2025

Steve Balog (Stephen John Balog), 69 of Berkeley, Calif., passed from this world unexpectedly on March 16, 2025. Cause of death was complications from an undetectable form of liver cancer that spread rapidly through his body. Steve passed in hospice care and was surrounded during his final illness by his brother David of New York and dear friends Jayne Sorensen of Oregon and Kym Olson of Arizona.

Steve had a myriad of passions which he pursued. He loved music, particularly jazz, old movies (and new), making friends, sports, cooking and so much more.

But as a gay man, the movies and the music Steve loved were not written for him. The romances were all heterosexual until recent. There were no role models for gay relationships, at least none that were readily discernable. Bullied as a youth, Steve too often found silence and isolation to be a safer choice than engagement. He would withdraw his ready smile and witty personality, "scanning the room," in LGBTQ parlance. Steve lent his support to help his community, delivering meals to AIDS patients and attending churches supportive of the gay community. He recently participated in a gay men's support group for senior gays in Berkeley.

Steve found a niche for himself as a respected accountant in the nonprofit world of the San Francisco Bay area. He took leadership positions at the Jewish Community Center and at the Contemporary Jewish Museum over the past 25 years. He helped every organization he worked for not only with his attention to detail and software skills but with his special interpersonal abilities.

Uniquely, of his many interests, Steve loved Basset Hounds and baseball, as long as the players and owners weren't too greedy. He was a great supporter of progressive causes extending from the Human Rights Committee to the Audibon Society, to Mother Jones, The Nation magazine and the National Wildlife Federation.

Steve was born in Yonkers, NY on August 6, 1955 to Marion and Andrew Balog. He was a graduate of Fordham Preparatory School and Johns Hopkins University. 

Steve was cremated and a memorial service is planned for this summer. His brother David is planning a service this summer in upstate New York that will be streamed live. For more information, write to dbalog99@gmail.com.

Thank you.

The immortal Henrietta Lacks and the Covid vaccine

Credit: Keith Henry Brown. Henrietta Lacks, the "Mother of Modern Medicine," made a vital contribution to the Covid-19 vaccines, 70 years after her death.

At this time of year when we honor the memory of George Floyd and repairing racial injustice, we must not forget the story of Henrietta Lacks. She is called the "Mother of Modern Medicine" for good reason. Her cells, used in research around the world, on many projects, played a significant role in the development of the Covid-19 vaccine, as they did for the development of the polio vaccine by Dr. Jonas Salk.

Remarkably, 70 years after her death from cervical cancer, Henrietta Lacks' cells live on, allowing for lower research cost and for researchers scientists to avoid testing on human subjects.

Correcting a longstanding injustice

Henrietta Lacks' contributions in the form of her immortal cells have finally been recognized by the biomedical community. Johns Hopkins University, where she was treated for cervical cancer, the National Institutes of Health, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and other individuals have made reparations to the family in terms of cash payments from the results of experiments on her cells. 

A Henrietta Lacks Foundation, seats on the board that decides how her cells will be used, and symposiums and scholarships in her name all honor Henrietta Lacks and have begun to correct the ethically wrong use of her cells, which was begun without her consent. 

Read more about this important, remarkable story. And it is hoped that some will get the vaccine which, incredibly, she helped make possible decades after her death.

Learn more about Henrietta Lacks, the vaccine, Covid-19 and public health in this new book:

Get the facts today!