Louis W. Balmer

Louis W. Balmer, 93, a retired professor of chemistry at Pennsylvania State University, died on July 26.

Born in Ardmore, Pa., Balmer received a B.S. in physics in 1938 from Wagner College, in Staten Island, N.Y. He then served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. He earned an M.S. in chemistry and education from Pennsylvania State College (later Pennsylvania State University) in 1952.

In 1948, Balmer joined Penn State as an original faculty member of its Behrend Campus, in Erie, Pa., where he remained until 1982.

Balmer was instrumental in combining local engineering and scientific societies to form the Erie Engineering Societies Council and in establishing its annual engineering trade show. Proceeds from the trade show funded scholarships, later known as the Louis W. Balmer Scholarships, at local colleges. He and his wife established the Louis W. & Evelyn H. Balmer Scholarship at Penn State, Behrend. Balmer was an emeritus member of ACS, which he joined in 1942.

He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Evelyn; daughter, Deanna Balmer Svrcek; sons Wesley and Norman; four grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.