Lebanon, N.H. —
He was born April 11, 1945, in Washington, D.C., the son of Louis and Carmela Errigo Balestra. Dr. Balestra graduated third in the honors class at Gonzaga College High School in 1963, then attended the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., on academic and U.S. Air Force ROTC scholarships and from which he graduated cum laude in 1967. Dr. Balestra also served as a reservist in the U.S. Air Force. During his senior year at Holy Cross, he met his beloved wife of 48 years, Dr. Suellen Tucker Balestra.
Dr. Balestra first matriculated to Dartmouth Medical School in 1967, then in 1968 performed laboratory research at the Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology followed by three years of research at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, NIH, Bethesda, Md., before returning to Dartmouth Medical School from which he graduated in 1974.
After completing his residency in Internal Medicine in Providence, R.I., Dr. Balestra and his wife moved back to the Upper Valley. He completed a year of Fellowship training in Clinical Pathology at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Hanover (Lebanon). From 1978-2000, Dr. Balestra practiced clinical medicine at the White River Junction, Vt. Medical and Regional Office Center and also served as Associate Professor of Medicine, Emeritus, at Dartmouth Medical School. In 1988, he became certified in Geriatric Medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Family Practice.
At the White River Junction VA, Dartmouth Medical School, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, and Dartmouth College Dr. Balestra was a member of numerous administrative committees such as the Clinical Executive Board, DVA, 1994-2000, Admissions, Medicine Internship Selection, and Research. He was cited separately in 1993 and 1994 for his contributions to VA Research and the VA Cooperative Studies Program, and in 1996 by Dartmouth Medical School for his teaching contributions to House Staff and medical students.
Dr. Balestra served as a City Councilman of Lebanon from 2001 to 2005, and worked hard to conserve historic structures and open land.
In 2000, Dr. Balestra retired for health reasons, but until the time of his death had continued active volunteer research collaborations, mainly with VA colleagues, resulting in several publications.
Besides medicine and biomedical research, he was passionate about sports and possessed a natural talent for golf, tennis, football, and basketball. Dr. Balestra was an avid and loyal Washington Redskins fan throughout his life and also enjoyed college football. His interests included antiques of all sorts such as furniture, paintings, and tools. Dr. Balestra had a fondness for maintaining the family farm, for sports cars even though he did not own one, an occasional Manhattan, Aretha Franklin, and dancing. He especially enjoyed the company of his family and friends, and loved to discuss politics and sports with them while injecting his sharp wit and keen observations in the most charming and endearing ways. Dr. Balestra was much-loved by his family and friends and will be sorely missed and never forgotten.
In addition to his wife Suellen, Dr. Balestra is survived by his sister Adeline Balestra Rieger of Upper Marlboro, Md., and many dear brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, cousins, nephews, nieces, and friends.
A celebration of Dr. Balestra’s life is being planned at the family farm for September. In lieu of memorial flowers, donations in his memory can be made to the Visiting Nurse and Hospice for VT and NH, P. O. Box 881, Brattleboro, VT 05302. Expressions of sympathy for Dr. Balestra’s family may be expressed through an online guestbook by visiting www.rickerfuneralhome.com.