Robert Gabriel Balnicky

Robert Gabriel Balnicky was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, to Irene Sawicki Balnicky and Harry Balnicky on April 18, 1922. His father was a tailor and furrier, and his mother was a homemaker. He has a stepsister, Debbie Hatzisvvas, who lives with her husband, Salvador, in Union, New Jersey. His early education consisted of Abraham Lincoln Grammar School, Alexander Hamilton Junior High School, and Thomas Jefferson High School. The family moved for one year to Roselle, New Jersey, but returned to Elizabeth after that brief stay. Bob left high school before graduation and entered the Thomas Edison Vocational School in Elizabeth. He was one of the top students in the printing department but was expelled because of an unfortunate incident involving a field trip to a local business. Bob and his group were accused of stealing some printing supplies from the business. Bob stood up for his team with the authorities and suffered the consequences of his forceful intercession. He later would earn a Graduate Equivalent Degree (GED) while serving in the Navy in Pensacola, Florida.

Bob enlisted in the Navy in a swearing-in ceremony in New York, New York, in December of 1942. He was sent to San Diego, California, to “boot camp” and later was transferred to Norman, Oklahoma, where he attended Aviation Mechanical School. He graduated from that class in the top 10 and was asked to remain a year as an instructor. It was here he met Elizabeth Marie Hartenstein (Betty) and they were married on April 18, 1943. They moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where Bob served as an instructor of Aviation Mechanics at the Naval Air Station. They roomed with a Presbyterian couple in Minneapolis who were instrumental in leading Bob to Christ and thus began his spiritual journey.

The couple’s next assignment took them to San Clemente Island off California’s coast where Bob was assigned an aircraft of his own to maintain. Following this mission, they went to Peleliu in the Palau Island chain in the Pacific. This location was formerly a Japanese staging area prior to the end of World War II. While there, he and another crew member pursued Japanese soldiers in a Jeep but turned over in a ravine in the dark of night. The next day, they returned to the scene, and spotted a 40-foot cliff a few feet ahead of the accident’s location. If they hadn’t turned over, they would have faced certain death driving over the cliff. While stationed on this island, the chaplain asked Bob to assume chaplain responsibilities because he was being transferred out. The Navy Captain (commander) appointed Bob an additional duty as temporary chaplain.

Bob and Betty returned to the States to Pensacola, Florida, where Bob taught instructor classes for the Red Cross at Corey Field. (The picture of Bob in front of an airplane on Suncoast’s Wall of Honor was taken there.) He was honorably discharged from the Navy after serving 7 years active duty. He also pastored at the Ft. Walton and Destin Presbyterian churches as a supply preacher. He joined the Civil Air Patrol as a chaplain and served this arm of the United States Air Force for over 50 years, attaining the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

The family grew during this period with Richard Ozzie born on May 2, 1945, and Barbara Gail born on May 24, 1948. A career path change occurred when they moved to Decatur, Georgia, and Bob entered Columbia Seminary under an Extraordinary Waiver provision in which he was allowed to take classes in a non-degree program. His first solo pastorate after finishing the certificate requirements at Columbia was in Troy, North Carolina, where he served for three years. After three years, the family moved to Ocean Drive Beach, South Carolina (near Myrtle Beach), where he stayed only a year. Then, on to Union, South Carolina, where Bob had a ministry for five years.

Knoxville, Tennessee was the setting for another pastorate at the Inskip Presbyterian Church which was in the throes of a division and ultimate dissolution. Bob left the congregation to form an independent congregation nearby. His wife, Betty, sought a divorce at that time after the children had graduated from school. Bob then met Annette Virginia Hawkins, who was a Navy Reservist, and a native of Tennessee. They married in Chattanooga, Tennessee, at the Central Presbyterian Church on December 24, 1977. Bob took correspondence courses from Florida International College & Seminary during this time and earned his college and seminary degrees from that institution.

Gulfport, Mississippi, and the Handsboro Presbyterian Church was the next pastoral setting where Bob encountered a very provincial congregation, which ended in a cross-burning at the church building and a subsequent investigation by the Committee on Ministry of the Presbytery and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The family moved on to New Orleans, Louisiana, where Bob became pastor of an African American congregation. He also accepted a part-time position as chaplain of the New Orleans Fire Department. Bob and Annette were active volunteers with the Salvation Army in New Orleans.

Both Annette and Bob retired to Madeira Beach, Florida. Here they raised ferrets, cats, and a large garden. They spent 18 years at this location before entering Westminster Shores in June of 2006. His son, Richard, died suddenly on June 15, 2015, and Richard’s one daughter, Kelly Ann Oliver, resides in LaGrange, Oregon. Annette went home to be with the Lord on January 25, 2018. They had no children together, but 41 happy years of marriage!

Barbara Gail Wotherspoon (BG) resides with her husband, Robert, in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. She has a daughter, Hannah Lewis, by a previous marriage, who resides in Bethesda, Maryland. Hannah has a son, Gregory.  BG and Robert have a son, Daniel Pierce Wotherspoon, who resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They also have an adopted daughter, Maya, who lives at home with her parents.

Bob continued his service to his Lord in spite of his confinement to a chair for over 12 years as a result of three back surgeries, and his advanced age of 98. He served as an unofficial chaplain at the Lexington Health & Rehab Center in 2014 and at the Suncoast Health Center (Nov 2017) up until last year, where he offered devotionals each Sunday for the residents. He went to his eternal reward on January 1, 2021. May he rest in peace!