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.

Food, brain health and Alzheimer's

Learn more HERE.

Imagine for a moment that you surmount life's outrageous fortunes and you go over the hurdles, and then you face toward the end of your life the reward for your appropriate and successful aging, the loss of your most human qualities--your ability to reason, make decisions, remember.

That is the fate that my Aunt Barbara faced and a percentage of Americans must deal with. That is, a large fraction of us, if we don't find solutions, ultimately will will suffer the syndrome called Alzheimer's disease.

If you live to 85, you have a 50 per cent chance of getting Alzheimer's.

With the enormous increase in people achieving the age of 65, we cannot allow this disease to become the scourge it already is. Alzheimer's will be much more prevalent in the future by the ironic fact that medical science is helping us live longer.

Now, it is the case that not everyone will suffer this tragic disorder. Currently, experts say that if you live to 85, you will have a 50 per cent chance of getting Alzheimer's.

Researchers and doctors are focused now on making Alzheimer's a treatable condition since indications are that the disease can begin up to 20 years before symptoms such as memory loss manifest themselves.

For example, some scientists believe that a simple test, an exam of the retina (considered part of the brain) by a eye examination, can show early build up of the plaques and tangles that are the hallmark of the disease.

The model of Alzheimer's treatment would be a disease such as diabetes, in which symptoms can be detected and treated with diet, exercise and medications. We treat but don't cure diabetes.