Melvin Marquardt BALSIGER

1924 - 2021  (96 years)

• Name	Melvin Marquardt BALSIGER  [1, 2]
  Birth	27 Dec 1924	Portland, Multnomah, Oregon, USA   [1, 2]
  Gender	Male
  Also Known As	Mel BALSIGER
  Death	4 Jul 2021  [2]
  Person ID	I3546	Rivera Family Tree
  Last Modified	2 Sep 2025

  
  

  Family	Marguerite Josephine ROSE,   b. 26 Mar 1925, Killam, Flagstaff, Alberta, Canada d. 26 Jun 2011, Clark, Washington, USA (Age 86 years)
  Marriage	2005  [1]
  Family ID	F1226	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	2 Sep 2025

  
  

• Sources

  [S884] Washington, U.S., Marriage Records, 1854-2013. Name: Marguerite Rose Tyson Gender: Female Application Age: 79 Birth Date: 26 Mar 1925 Birth Place: Killam Alberta Canada Application Date: 4 Feb 2005 Application Place: Clark, Washington, USA Spouse: Melvin Marquardt Balsiger [S984] Obituary of Melvin Marquardt BALSIGER, (Name: Seattle Times, The; Date: 11 Jul 2021;). Melvin Marquardt Balsiger (Mel) December 27, 1924 - July 4, 2021 Melvin Marquardt Balsiger, 96, died peacefully in his sleep on July 4th, 2021 in Seattle, Washington. Melvin 'Mel' was born December 27, 1924 to Elmer G. and Clara R. (Marquardt) Balsiger in Portland, Oregon along with his older brother Gilbert Balsiger who preceded him in death. He joined U.S. Army Air Corps (1943-1946), and became a Weather Observer, posted to Wakde Island off Papua New Guinea in WWII. At Oregon State College he earned a B.S. Physics 1949 and was a Sigma Pi Sigma Physics Scholar Honor Society member. Career highlights: Portland Fire department, box manufacturing with Container Corp and Western Corrugated. He supervised opening their box-making plant in 1958. 1959 He joined Tektronix in Beaverton, Oregon, designing cathode ray tube electron guns for oscilloscopes, and prototype scanning electron microscope. He is named in five U.S. patents. He retired May 1984 after 25 years. He valued education and helped pay for higher education for his children and many grandchildren. He gave back to his community tutoring high school physics students in Vancouver, Washington for seventeen years, he was honored with 'Friend of Education' award. Family: He married Carol Alzner (1929-2004) in June 1950 after meeting her in 1949 while earning his education certificate at the University of Oregon. Three children Wayne (Karen Gilbert), Dottie (Ken) Nielson, Lee (Gloria) Balsiger and 17 grand and great-grandchildren. He married his second wife, Marguerite (Rose) Tyson (1925-2011) in 2005, a Gregory Heights Grammar school classmate. Stepchildren Jim (Kathy), Tom, and Val Tyson (Rich Ehrhardt). Mel was a loving husband, father and grandfather and is greatly missed. His hobbies included traveling, reading, history, fly-fishing, hiking, camping, and fixing things. The family recommends donating to the Alzheimer's Association www.alz.org. Published on July 11, 2021