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James B. 'JB' Balch Levelland, TX QCWA # 18397 |
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Graveside services for J.B. Balch, age 82, were officiated by Bill Billingsley of Levelland.
After graduating from Seymour High School, he enrolled in Decatur Baptist College. J.B. volunteered for the United States Army shortly after Pearl Harbor and served until 7 October 1945. He was a member of the 34th Infantry Division and served in North Africa, Italy, the Battle of Bulge, liberated prisoners of war at the Nordhausen Concentration Camp, and was a part of the Allied Forces who met the Russians at the Elbe River in Eastern Germany.
He was wounded in action and earned the Purple Heart and also received the Silver and Bronze Stars. After returning to the states, he completed his B.S. at Baylor University and was selected to attend the first series of the National Science Foundation Institutes, where he received his M.S. from Oklahoma A & M in Stillwater, Okla. He taught high school science at Seymour High School and Levelland High School before joining the faculty at South Plains College. During his 17 years at South Plains College, he received the Excellence in Teaching Award, but his true reward was the joy of working with the hundreds of bright and talented students who he taught throughout his 35-year teaching career.
Survived by his wife, four children, 11 grandchildren; and a great-grandson.