Gerald John Balonek
November 22, 1950 – March 4, 2023
Gerald “Jerry” Balonek passed away Saturday, March 4, 2023, at age 72. Fondly known as “Dr B”, Jerry earned his Veterinary degree from Cornell University in 1975. When he came to Rochester he worked for the Pittsford Veterinary group, then at Midtown Veterinary Hospital where he became involved with the care of animals at the Seneca Park Zoo. In 1987, Dr B purchased East Ridge Animal Hospital where he treated dogs, cats, birds, pocket pets, and various exotic animals. He created an environment where injured, orphaned, or sick wildlife could be treated, cared for, and hopefully rehabilitated. There was never a charge for that. Dr B not only won the hearts of his clientele, but he was also awarded for his service and
commitment to the veterinary community. The GVVMA awarded him a lifetime achievement award. Dr. Balonek created a family at East Ridge Animal Hospital with his guidance, wisdom, dedication, and unsurpassed generosity. He was passionate about providing affordable veterinary care for all pets. Dr B was known for his humor and love of practical jokes. He leaves us with a lifetime of memories and knowledge. Jerry loved hunting and fishing. He especially enjoyed pheasant hunting with his bird dogs, deer hunting and in his earlier years, duck hunting. He also enjoyed helping wildlife and domestic pets survive… thus his vocation as a veterinarian.
He is predeceased by his parents John and Norma Balonek. He is survived by his brother Thomas Balonek (Barbara Hoopes), and cousins David Meyer (Linda Converse), Michael Kelly, Stephen (Carol) Kelly, and Christine (Kenneth) Tomasek.
Calling hours will be Friday, March 24th, 4-7pm and Saturday, March 25th, 12-3pm with a brief remembrance service at 3pm at Dierna Funeral Home, 2309 Culver Rd., Rochester, NY 14609. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his memory to Wild Wings Inc. Bird Sanctuary or the National Kidney Foundation.
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How do I even begin. Everyone that has ever had the pleasure of meeting Doc knows what an amazing person he was. They feel the huge loss of losing such an incredible friend, mentor, doctor. I met Doc back when I first started working for EastRidge Animal Hospital. He was the most amazing person. Instantly I knew he was special. He was hilarious, smart, hard working, compassionate, genuine, loving and selfless. He not only gave everything to the animals he took care of but to all of his friends and EastRidge family. He took care of us. Provided an amazing work place full of love and passion for eachother and all the animals we cared for. I learned so much from this incredible man about the Vet field and animal care. I also learned so much about myself and became the technician and person I am today because of his guidance, wisdom and friendship. He has fought so hard for so long and never gave up. He was the strongest most dedicated man I have ever known. How I will miss you advice, sense of humor, laugh, smile, our conversations for hours. How do I move forward with a piece of my heart missing. I will move forward by making you proud as the vet tech that you made me. I will move forward by keeping your sense of humor in my heart. I can not believe you are gone. I told you that you weren’t allowed to die on me. You were the father that I still had on earth. I was the daughter you never wanted. I will hold you in my heart each day. This world was so lucky to have you. I love you so much Doc may you rest peacefully and be free of any pain and illness. I know you and Salam, Raven and Hera are up there hunting and enjoying eachother again.
It is hard to put into words how much I cared for this dear person. As a client of his since 1990 we had been through the funny and the sad. He cared for 13 of my animals total. He always valued my opinions even though I had no training in the veternarian field.
Later when we both took our test to get our wildlife licenses, I beat him by one point. He enjoyed (I think) that I never let him forget that. I always caused a problem when I had my appointments as I would put him farther behind in his schedule because we would gossip and talk about life. He was determined after loosing a friend to fight harder and saw him gain a new perspective on life. Once I remember going to 6 stores to buy a poster his staff wanted of the movie Dr. T And The Woman. I was so determined to find this poster so they could change it to Dr B and frame it.
A week before the pandemic shutdowns, I visited him in the hospital. True to form he was always trying to shock me or make me laugh but there we were talking just like we were back in the exam room. I think I will miss most of all the way he walked into the room. He slide the door open and he give his proverbial greeting and I always felt that my pet, my problem (if there was one) and myself were the most important thing at that moment. I trusted his judgement more then any other person, I have known. Given a chance to think magically, I would hope he is surrounded by all the beautiful animals he saved and cared for what a beautiful place that would be. Fly high, Dr B
Sending condolences to Dr.B’s family friends and everyone in the community who worked with and/or met him. Dr.Balonek was the first Veterinarian I met as a young adult and first time exotic bird mom. He did a fantastic job educating me and treating my bird. I always knew from a young age I wanted to work with and help animals but he is the guy who inspired me to pursue a career in veterinary medicine. He was a great guy and great Veterinarian and did Gods work here on Earth. May he rest in peace.
We first met the Dr by chance when we took our Black Lab to him. Little did we know at that time his passion for labs. He did a quick check, and was sad to tell us our Jypsy had a tumor. We were shook, scared and beside ourselves. The Dr reached out to us and quickly brought peace of mind. Our dog was only 4 at the time. He told us he could take a biopsy send it to Cornell, but even if the diagnosis was not in our favor that 95% of the time a treatment wouldn’t work and we were to young to even think of affording those kind of treatments. He was so reasonable so fair and so considerate he told us to take Jypsy home and enjoy her. We did just that and she went onto live another 10 years. We always respected Dr Balonek for being so honest and fair to us. God bless Dr Balonek
Doc was a great person. Very passionate about his work. He will be missed a great deal by all. He took care of many of my pets and was always very affordable. He and Katie are reunited again playing baseball surrounded by all the ones they helped through the years. RIP Doc and thanks for everything.
I’m so sorry to hear that Dr. B has passed away. He, and all the wonderful folks at Eastridge were always there when we had to rescue a downed Peregrine Falcon fledgling. It was so comforting to know he was there when we needed him. Rest in Peace Dr. B. Thank you for all you did.
Jerry was one of a kind. there is nobody in the world that had the heart he did. For animals and people, especially those he loved. Jer was always finding ways to keep learning even after having accomplished all he had already done as a vet. He always had an answer. The whole that losing him has made is bigger then I can ever begin to explain. I wish this was all a bad night mare. I know he would want us all who loved him to celebrate his life, laugh, because he loved to make people laugh, remember his love and compassion for all animals and all the work he did . Jer was a great man and will be missed every single day
Dr. Jerry Balonek was an early mentor and friend to me. I learned volumes about veterinary medicine, especially exotics, but I learned even more about how to be a kind, decent, caring person. He taught me how to help people especially in difficult situations. Twenty some years later, I still remember the lessons Dr B shared with me. May he rest in peace.
I will never forget Dr. B. He was one in a million. Such a kind, generous, soft hearted man. I trusted him implicitly with my furry loved ones. I know there is a special place for him in heaven, probably right near St. Francis. Rest in peace with all your pets.💙
I was a client of Dr. B’s – when I brought my fur babies to see him – I knew they were in good hands. Sometimes all was good and other times he would let me know it was time. He always went the extra mile for everyone. He was the most compassionate person with your pets as well as the you. I am truly blessed to have known him. He will be truly missed by all. May he rest in peace.
We are so very sorry to hear of Dr. Balonek’s passing. We had four cats and two dogs all at once in our home, so we saw him yearly at least. We looked forward to our visits with him, and seemed we learned something each time. Condolences to his family, friends, and staff of hard working and kind individuals. Lisa and Arthur
Best. Vet. Ever.
He would help every creature no matter what. I remember bringing him an injured gerbil. He was so gentle and caring even though it bit him repeatedly. He never turned away anyone and always made time to explain everything. Great ma, great vet. Very much loved!
I first met Jerry in 2016. He came to the facility where I work for physical therapy. I was his physical therapist.
We quickly became good friends and worked well together.
I feel so honored to not only have had the opportunity to help Jerry meet his goals in therapy but to also get to know the wonderful person that Jerry was. He was so kind, witty, and smart. I have to admit that on some days our therapy mostly consisted of good conversation and a lot of laughs. Jerry loved the “shock” factor and to joke around. He always had a big smile on his face and had a terrific sense of humor.
I didn’t know Jerry as a vet but learned from our conversations how much he had loved his career and the animals that he cared for. One day when he was in the PT gym exercising, his cell phone rang. He answered the call, even though he knew it was a pet peeve of mine (no pun intended), and proceeded to help another vet from his clinic perform a difficult surgery on a dog over the phone! I was in awe at his ability to do what he did over the phone that day, and I told him that I would never yell at him again for talking on his phone during his therapy session.
That’s the type of person Jerry was.
I’ll remember Jerry in so many positive ways and he will always have a special place in my heart. Even as I’m shedding tears for this tremendous loss, I’m honored to remember one of the best people I ever met.
My deepest and sincerest condolences go out to Jerry’s family.
wow thank you for this. I know about that shock thingy too.
This was the only Doctor that knew how to treat my little ferret years ago! We took our dogs to him and he was the best. A excellent vet and a very caring man. He just wasn’t in it for the money. He truly loved animals and was into healing them without causing the families to have to take out a second mortgage! There’s a special place in Heaven for Dr.Balonek. May God rest his soul, rest easy doctor.
Such a truly wonderful person! Thank you for everything you did for my fur babies and all the great advice and knowledge you shared. You went above and beyond to literally save Toffee’s life and for that I will always be grateful.
Dr. B took care of my pets starting in 1985. I always tried to get one of his first appointments of the day before he had a chance to get behind. It was a known fact you would wait a while for your appointment. That was okay though because you knew it meant he was taking time to answer all you questions and maybe just shoot the breeze. One time he asked if I waited a long time, which I had, then said “would you like us to give your dog a free pedicure?” He was always available to talk if you had a question. The techs would “grab” him in between appointments so you could talk to him. We had a cat, our first cat that was my parents which we inherited when they passed. We only had her for a year when she developed heart problems which could not be fixed. When he had to put her to sleep, he said she was “too pretty” to die so young, 4 years old. The care and compassion he showed then was unforgettable. He always remembered our first dog the way she jumped “like a circus dog.” When she got older and we took her on a Adirondack cottage vacation with us, I sent him a postcard from Abbey, our dog, saying she was having a great time and “thanks for advising my mom to bring me.” He was one of a kind and will always be fondly remembered.
Dr. Balonek, where do I start? There are so many ways you touched my life. You are a large part of who I am as a person and a tech. Who knew that I would EVER conquer my fear of snakes??? (It took 23 years, but I did…mostly) I learned so much from you and you learned to handle this very emotional tech!
I always knew if I were to leave East Ridge I would have to move away, there was no one like you to work for or with…also, I always felt like I’d be cheating on you! Even though I was scared of the unknown, you were encouraging and maybe even excited for me. You’ll never know how much that meant to me!
I did my best to always keep you in the loop of my adventures and make you proud.
My visits back to Rochester have been few, but you were always a must see when circumstances allowed.
I picture you at peace, doing what you love and surrounded by all of the animals and people you have helped over the years.
Rest easy big guy!
It has taken me a bit to put into words my feelings. How can I describe how much I loved this man? He knew everything about me. He was my best friend my surrogate dad my friend. No words can describe my feelings. He created a dynasty upon customer service and clients being first and foremost. The friendship and love for us long timers supersedes most family relationships❤️ May u rest in peace my friend. Because of u I met my closest friends because of u I learned so much because of u I learned family isn’t always blood.