- Date Of Birth: September 22, 1953
- Date Of Death: July 2, 2020
- State: Illinois
Catherine J. “Cathy” (Dennis) Balzarini, 66, of Naperville, passed away Thursday, July 2, 2020 of complications during heart surgery at Amita Health Mercy Medical Center in Aurora.Cathy was born Catherine Joanne Dennis on September 22, 1953 in Clinton, IA to Hiley and Anna Lou (Clark) Dennis. She married Mark J. Balzarini on October 13, 2001 at First United Methodist Church in Ottawa, IL. Cathy had a long, rewarding, diverse career, starting as a barber, bartender, event coordinator and ending with her main career passion as a registered nurse, quickly becoming Director of Nurses for senior citizens in the health care industry for over a 24-year period.
The elderly always came first at work, where she was recognized repeatedly for her extraordinary care and dedication toward providing the safest and most comfortable environment for her residents. Cathy could be a force to be reckoned with and highly respected for it by her colleagues. After graduating from Illinois Valley Community College, her nursing history started at Heritage Manor-Mendota. She went on to spread organizational knowledge and abilities at Shabbona Health Care Center-Shabbona, Manor Care Health Center-Naperville, Tabor Hills Health Facility-Naperville, The Tiller-Oswego, Michaelson Health Center-Batavia, LaSalle County Nursing Home-Ottawa and Prairie Crossing-Shabbona. At home, family was everything.
She was always a very caring and selfless wife/mother/daughter/sister, willing to do the extra things to make sure everything was just right. She was attentive to all family, friends and even strangers at any time who were in need of her. She enjoyed shopping, crafts, sewing, crocheting, cooking, baking, traveling, her four dogs and spending time at the camper along the Mississippi River.Cathy is survived by her husband, Mark; three children, Brandy of Indiana, Destini of Illinois and Lucas of California; 11 grand-kids, Mercedes, Jaylen, Cashae, Gavin, Kiara, Calista, Jaycee, Hayden, Curtis, Kieran and Layton; two great-grand-kids, Leana and Amber and two more on the way; her mother, Anna Lou of Iowa; two sisters, Shelia (Don) of Iowa, Sherry (Don) of Iowa; two brothers, Don of Idaho and James of Iowa; five nieces, Stacey (Joe), Chelsea (Mario), Stevie (Miles), Brittany (Ryan) and Ashley; uncle and aunt, Vincent (Wonda) of Maryland; sisters and brothers-in-law, Doreen of Illinois, Jeannette (John) of Illinois and Alan of Arizona; nieces and nephews-in-law, Lisa (Nick), Betsy, David (Jen), Ann (Jorge), John (Samantha) and Eric.She was preceded in death by her father, Hiley; a nephew, Donnie; her father and mother-in-law, John and Dorothy, a brother-in-law, Gary and nephews-in-law, Emilio and Francis.
