Nick Balson never forgot the kindness shown by a friend who helped the Balson family escape from Russia during the Bolshevik Revolution and all his life tried to help others in need, his daughter said.
Nick Balson, of Plum, owner and operator of the Balson Distributing Co., of Plum, died on Friday, May 27, 2005, at UPMC Shadyside. He was 85.
"My grandfather, James Balson, who immigrated to the United States from Russia in 1910 and worked in the steel mills in Monessen, decided to return to Russia in 1918," said Mr. Balson's daughter, Janet Hill.
"My grandfather, who wasn't buying the Communist line, feared for his family. With the help of a friend in the military, my grandparents in 1920 left their home in the middle of the night.
"My father, his sister, Anna, and his brother, Alex, were placed in a cart and had straw thrown on them so as not to be recognized.
"They made it back to the United States and returned to Monessen, where my grandfather continued to work in the steel mills until he established his beer distributing company in Plum in 1944."
Hill said her father never forgot the kindness of the man who helped his family escape from Russia, and would reach out to anyone who needed a helping hand -- whether it was a family member or a customer.
"It was well known among the Balsons and my mother's family, the Potochniks, that if any family member needed a job they could come to Dad," she said.
Born and raised in Monessen, Westmoreland County, Mr. Balson was one of six children of James and Mary Udich Balson.
Mr. Balson worked at a number of jobs before buying his father's beer distributing company.
In 1944, he married Mathilda "Tillie" Potochnik, whose parents owned and operated the Twin Creeks Tavern in Unity. "My Dad was a sharp dresser in those days and owned a red Cadillac convertible," said Hill.
"My mother always said she could see that Dad was a good worker. And Mom was right. Mom and Dad put in long hours after Dad bought my grandfather's beer distributing company in 1957.
"Mom waited on customers and worked on the books, while Dad and my brothers waited on customers and made deliveries."
Hill said her father didn't take a vacation until 1977, when he took a cruise and bought a condo in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. "It was then that he began to relax and take time off to use the condo and enjoy himself. It was well-deserved."
Mr. Balson is survived by his wife, Mathilda "Tillie" Balson; four sons, James, Fred and Nick Balson, all of Plum, and Jack Balson and his wife, Pamela, also of Plum; a daughter, Janet Hill and her husband, Gary, of Plum; 10 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren; a sister, Anna Unterberger, of the Universal neighborhood of Penn Hills; and two brothers, James and Donald Balson, both of Plum.
Mr. Balson was predeceased by a brother, Alex, and a sister, Helen Balson.
Friends will be received from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday and from 1 to 3 p.m. Monday at the Maurice L. Knee Ltd. Funeral Home, 7663 Saltsburg Road, Plum, where Parastas will be at 7 p.m. Sunday and services at 10 a.m. Tuesday.
Burial will be in Plum Creek Cemetery.
