Lansford Leroy Balding

Lance L Balding, 77, died peacefully at home on January 22, 2024. He was under hospice care and died from complications of pancreatic cancer. A Celebration of Life will be held Saturday, February 10, 2024, at 1:00 pm at American Lutheran Church, 631 26 1⁄2 Rd, Grand Junction, CO, with Pastor Valerie Carlson officiating. Cremation has taken place. 

Lance was born August 1, 1946, in Mitchell, South Dakota, an only child to Harold A. and Agnes H.(Brandenburg) Balding. He was raised on the family farm near Lane, SD, where he graduated high school with the Class of 1965. He was baptized and confirmed at Zion Lutheran Church and was a lifelong Lutheran. Lance graduated from Huron College on May 25, 1969, and married Lynette A. Johnson on May 31, 1969, at the American Lutheran Church in Huron. Their first home was in Lane, where Lance was a high school coach and social studies teacher. After moving to Colorado in 1970, Lance worked toward his master’s degree at The University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. In 1973, Lance accepted a position with the F & M Christensen Agency in Wessington Springs, South Dakota. In 1975, when Lynette was eight months pregnant with their son, Landon, they returned to Colorado, where Lance had accepted a position with First Insurance Agency in Glenwood Springs. He later became a partner at Rifle Insurance Service. In 2009, he retired from Grand Valley Insurance Service, which he and Lynette started as a “scratch” agency in 1989. His passions included his family, church, community service, and Lions, as well as collecting and trading pins. 

Lance served as a board member and president of multiple professional insurance organizations. He served on various community boards in Western Colorado, including Rifle Chamber and Rifle Creek Museum, 22 years on the Clifton Community Hall Board, and several years with Grand Valley Drainage District, Mesa County Crime Stoppers, and JUCO. He served as congregational president, been on the church council, served with church and society as an usher, and completed training for Stephen Ministry. He was a member of Jaycees and was a lifetime member of Lions Clubs International and served as Council Chair, District Governor, Vice District/Lt Governor, Cabinet Secretary/Treasurer, LCIF Chair, Zone and Region Chair, Club President, Club Secretary, and Treasurer. He served as president and director of The Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Bank and president and board member of the Colorado Lions Foundation. He was chairperson of Lions Leadership School and is a Certified Guiding Lion. Lance was a recipient of several Lions leadership awards, presidential medals, and certificates of appreciation. He is a 12-time Melvin Jones Fellow and a recipient of the Colorado Lions Foundation Humanitarian and Anne Sullivan awards. He was a charter member of CLPTC, LITPC Youth Scholarship Contributing Member, and has served as a LITPC board member. He was an avid pin trader for over 40 years, meeting and trading pins with Lions worldwide. 

Lance is survived by his wife, Lynette; their son, Landon (Jackie) Balding; grandchildren (Dustin, Christopher, Tesa, Jonathan, Taylor, and Jordyn); his brother, Gary Balding; his father-in-law, Doug Johnson; brother-in-law, Kerwin (Margaret) Johnson, nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. 

He was preceded in death by his parents, half sisters Carol Engebretson and Linda Cranny, nephews Craig ‘Newt’ Balding and Matthew K. Johnson, and his mother-in-law, Corrine Johnson. 

A sincere thank you to his doctors and nurses from St Mary’s Hospital and Oncology and his HopeWest hospice care team. Memorials can be made to the American Lutheran Church, Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF), or LITPC Scholarship Fund.