Steve J. Balcerowicz

A Funeral Mass for Steve J. Balcerowicz, 91, of Beasley, will be held at 10:00 A. M., Monday, August 4, 2008 at St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church in Beasley with Reverend Benjamin Smaistrla, St. Ambrose Catholic Church, Houston, officiating. Interment will follow in Greenlawn Memorial Park in Rosenberg. Visitation will be held from 5:00 P. M. until 7:00 P. M., with a rosary being recited at 6:00 P. M., Sunday, August 3, 2008 at St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church in Beasley. Steve was born July 24, 1917 in Chappel Hill, Texas to the late Steve Balcerowicz and Rosie Mazen Balcerowicz. He passed away July 29, 2008. Steve married Rose Regina Gutowsky on November 21, 1939 in Rosenberg, Texas. They moved to Beasley in 1948 where Steve farmed cotton, milo, and corn, becoming one of the area's first milo custom harvesters. His active involvement in St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church included the expansion of the church grounds and many successful bazaars. He was one of the founders of the Beasley Volunteer Fire Department, responsible for establishing the first fire station and obtaining the first fire truck in Beasley. A big part of his life was centered on cotton farming and serving as president, treasurer or director of the Beasley Farmers' Gin Company. In his limited leisure time with family and friends, Steve was a competitive domino player. He enjoyed dancing, and with wife, Rose, led many wedding marches throughout the Ft. Bend area. Steve also served on the Beasley City Council in his later years. Steve loved traveling via car with Rose, throughout the USA and Canada, especially through the farmlands of the Mississippi Delta and the Texas Rio Grande Valley. Rose also got Steve to travel abroad to Hong Kong and the Holy Land. A lifetime highlight was seeing the Pope in Vatican City and then meeting him during his Texas tour. Although his formal education was limited, he was proud of the fact that his daughters graduated from major Texas universities. His lifetime spanned a period of enormous change, his basic principles remained unchanged: devotion to God, loyalty to family and friends, and an appreciation for the value of an honest day's work. He was devoted to "his Rose" and was always putting "his girls" first. Steve is survived by his wife of 68 years, Rose Gutowsky Balcerowicz of Beasley; daughter, Evelyn Rosenbaum and husband, Robert, of Rosenberg; daughter, Debby Garst and husband, Randy, of Dripping Springs, Texas; two brothers, Pete Balcerowicz of Houston and Max Balcerowicz of Texas City; grandsons, Ross Rosenbaum and wife, Shalyn, of Haskell, Texas, and Chris Rosenbaum and fiancé, Barb Abbe, and children, Josh and Jessica Abbe, of Rosenberg; great grandson, Ethan Rosenbaum of Haskell, Texas; step grandson, Mike Garst and wife, Melissa, of Wisconsin; step great grandson, Mikie Garst of Wisconsin; along with other relatives and many friends. He was preceded in death by his sister, Lucille Bronikowski and brother, Stanley Balcerowicz, both of Houston. Serving as pallbearers are Michael Balcerowicz, Ronnie Gutowsky, Tommy Matthies, Fred Bludau, Wilbert Preuss, Daniel Van Gossen, Bennie Pollock and Frank Gutowsky. Honorary pallbearers are Ms. Terry Dye, Mike Garst, Dale Lindemann, Calvin Pollock, Chris Rosenbaum, Ross Rosenbaum, Rudy Vrana and A. J. Wleczyk.

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Steve J. Balcerowicz

July 24, 1917 - July 29, 2008