Julia Adele Latil Balius

A wonderful wife, loving mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, and compassionate friend, Julia Latil Balius entered eternal life on Thursday, April 4, 2024, just after her 95th birthday. Born in Biloxi, Mississippi on March 12, 1929, to Julius and Albertine Latil, Julia Adele Latil was baptized at Main Street Methodist Church, graduated from Biloxi High School in 1946, and worked for the E. W. Sadler Company. At the Methodist Church, she met the love of her life, Carl Balius, a Navy WWII veteran. Their marriage on August 8, 1951, lasted sixty-two years until Carl’s death in 2014. Moving to Houston, Texas, in 1964, Julia and Carl raised two children, Glenn Alan and Bonnie Sue. As a full-time mother and later a working mom, Julia drove Alan and Bonnie to piano lessons, dance lessons, baseball games, and Scout meetings, all while serving with the United Methodist Women and caring for her day lilies and family pets. She was a tireless, clever woman who balanced the family finances and twice provided income for Carl to attend graduate school. Julia sang alto in numerous church choirs, painted in oils and acrylics, volunteered at school and community functions, and prepared amazing meals for family and friends—the perfect example of a Christian woman who encouraged and comforted while deferring praise to others. Julia was quiet and kind, with a gentle laugh and a witty sense of humor. She was a strident defender of her family and her values. Julia worked as a supportive secretary and administrative assistant for the Veterans’ Administration and the Social Security Administration. Julia has joined her husband Carl and her parents in Heaven, as well as her son-in-law, Howell Cobb III (Chip), and her daughters-in-law, Nada Whitaker Balius and Barbara Morgan Balius. Please join us for a celebration of Julia’s life at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, 5501 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77004, on Saturday, June 1, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. Her ashes will be interred next to Carl’s at the Biloxi National Cemetery at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to St. Paul’s United Methodist Church. Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through Jesus Christ!

Julia Adele Latil Balius

March 12, 1929 - April 4, 2024