Julia Balcaen, 90, of Coal Valley, passed away Saturday, March 24, 2018 at Avonlea Cottage, Milan.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 am on Wednesday, March 28, 2018 at St. Ambrose Catholic Church, Milan.  Visitation will be held one hour prior to service.  Burial will be at the Rock Island National Cemetery, Arsenal Island.  Memorials may be made to St. Ambrose Catholic Church, Milan.

Julia was born on July 29, 1927 in Waregem, Belgium, the daughter of Desire and Celina (De Rycke) De Stoop.  She married Aime Balcaen in September 1951 in Little Rock, Arkansas.  In her earlier years she enjoyed playing cards with her husband and friends.  She also was a Girl Scout leader and participated in the PTA.  Julia was an active member of St. Ambrose Catholic Church, Milan and participated in many organizations.  She enjoyed helping out on the family farm gardening and canning.  Julia was an avid seamstress and was known to help out family members with clothing repairs.  She loved spending time with her grandchildren / great grandchildren, attending their sport, social and school events.

Julia is survived by her children: Frank (Clarice) Balcaen, Oceola, IA, Michele DeGrauwe and her partner Kelly Walters, Coal Valley, Roxanna (Paul) Crosser, Coal Valley, and Claire (Brad) Borgwardt, Clinton, IA.  Grandchildren are: Monte, Aaron, Aimee, Marie, Emily, Matthew, Anthony, Derek, Ryan, Grant, and Lindsay.  Great grandchildren are: Christina, Baylie, Emma, Kaden, Colin, Lance, Ian, Abigail, Rachel, Sidney, Harper, Nathan, Brynn, Brayden, Luke, and Charlotte.  She was preceded in death by her husband, Aime Balcaen; parents; 2 brothers and three sisters.