Donald Balza, Silvia Brienan
& Dora Hannon
Donald Joseph BALZA was born in Humbolt, Brown County, Wisconsin, the son of Theophile Antoine Joseph BALZA and Marie Louise LEURQUIN (Massey). Donald attended the Water Division School, a one room school house for grade until mid 5th grade, and the SS Peter and Paul Parochial School for the remainder of the5th grade. He attended Washington Junior High for grades 6,7 and 8. After grade school he was hired by Booth Motors in Green Bay and then worked construction for a time. His next job was for Tweet Brothers Plumbing and Heating.
He joined the Coast Guard (one month after his brother Gall) in August of 1942, and was shipped to Grand Haven, Michigan for basic training. Upon completion of basic training he was assigned to duty on LSTs and participated in the second wave of the 1944 invasion of Normandy Beach on D-Day. He was honorably discharged in 1946 and returned to his job at Tweet brothers in Green Bay. After returning from the war Donald met Silvia Brienen.
Silvia BRIENEN was born in 1922.
Donald married Silvia Brienen in St. Phillip Church, Preble in 1946, the first of their two children was:
- Donald Joseph BALZA Jr, born in Green Bay, Wisconsin, who married Cheryl WAUTIER and had four children (Jeremy, Jeffrey, unidentified son, unidentifier daughter)
- Sharon BALZA, born in Green Bay, Wisconsin, who married Gary NEESE.
Silvia died in 1953 (grave).
Dora HANNON was born in Champion, Wisconsin, on October 16th, 1914, the duaghter of William HANNON and Mary COLLINS. She was a secretary in the Green Bay area for many years.
Donald married his second wife was Dora Hannon on August 14th, 1954, in Paris Illinois. They moved to Sister Bay, Door County Wisconsin where Donald worked for NorFraost, a walk-in refrigerator manufacturing firm and had one child.
- David BALZA, who married Charlene Trajkovic. They have one son (Alex).
Donald Dora and family eventually moved back to Allouez, Wisconsin where Donald worked for Verheiden Refrigeration until he retired in 1983.
Dora Hannon died in Green Bay on May 5th, 1998 (obituary).
Memories:
BALZA Ancestry 
The surname BALZA is a derivation (Belzer, Balzac, Balzer,
etc.) of the ancient name "BALTHAZAR" (one of the
three wise men). The country of origin for this Balza
family is Belgium more specifically Sart-Walhain in Namur
Province where we've traced our earliest known ancestors.
At this time the earliest known family group with the Balza
surname is Jean Joseph BALZA
who married Marie Therese
BRABANT. Very little is known about this family - it is
still a subject for on-going research (Jean Joseph Balza Sr.
Family History). They had at least one son Jean Joseph Balza (1804 -
1889) who married Virginie BERO
(1807 - 1872) and they where blessed with eight children (Jean Joseph Balza Family
History). The youngest of these was Antoine BALZA (1845 - 1927)
who married Marie Antoinette
FLAHAUT (1845 - 1927). Antoine and Antoinette had six
children while living in Belgium. They and five of their six
children immigrated to Duval, Door County Wisconsin in 1880 and
became U.S. Citizens. They had four more children in Duval (Antoine Balza Family History).
Their sixth foreign born child was Theophile Antoine Joseph BALZA
(1878 - 1941) who first married Mathilda
FINENDAEL (1882 - 1917) and later married Mary Louise LEURQUIN (Massey)
( 1894 - 1967). Theophile and Mary's first son was Donald Joseph
described above.
LEURQUIN Ancestry
The LEURQUIN surname is very much a research in
progress. The origin of the Leurquin family like the Balza
family is Belgium. According to the immigration records
they come from the area around the city of Temploux. Our
earliest known Leurquin ancestor is Desire LEURQUIN (1824 - 1910)
who married Cecelia
BOURNONVILLE (1830 - 1918). Together they had four
children (Desire Leurquin
Family History). The third child of this union was Dieu Donni LEURQUIN (1865 -
1935) who married Victoria
MARTIN (1871 - 1936). Dieu Donni and Victoria raised
ten children (Dieu
Donni Leurquin Family History). The second of these
children was Mary Louise
LEURQUIN (1894 - 1967) who first married Joseph Henry MASSEY and had
three sons. After Joseph's death Mary met and married Theophile Antoine Joseph BALZA
(1878 - 1941). Their first son was Donald Joseph BALZA
described above.
BRIENEN Ancestry
The only known Brienen at this time is Sylvia BRIENEN who married Donald Joseph BALZA and is described above.
? Ancestry
HANNON Ancestry
The only HANNON ancestors known at this time are William
HANNON ( ) who married Mary COLLINS ( ). They had at least
one daughter Dora HANNON (1914-1983) who married Donald Joseph
BALZA and whose family is described above.
COLLINS Ancestry
The only known COLLINS at this time is Mary COLLINS ( )
who married William HANNON ( ). Theyhad at least one daughter
Dora HANNON who is described above.
Last updated: January 22nd, 2000
Copyright 2000, Richard M. Balza
To make corrections or obtain more information contact: Richard M. Balza