Joseph J. Balitewicz, 52, of Chicago, IL passed away suddenly on March 30, 2022. He is survived by his wife Bridget Gulotta; father John; mother Karen (nee Lloyd); brothers Mike (partner Sherry), Matt (Ola), Tom (Angie), Dan (Andrea), and Nick (Jenell); father-in-law, Anthony Gulotta; mother-in-law, Marie Gulotta; sisters-in-law Angela Furman (Greg) and Katherine Gulotta (David Birringer); nephews Colin, Liam, Alex, Thad, and Jake; and nieces Jessica and Katerina.

Joe graduated from Bishop Noll Institute and Purdue University, where he was a member of Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity. He took great pride in his career as a project management consultant for over 30 years. Joe was the National Delivery Lead for the Enterprise Portfolio and Program Management Practice at Centric Consulting. Previously, he worked at Navigant Consulting (formerly Peterson Consulting) and KPMG and served as COO at InContext Solutions.

Joe had an eclectic range of hobbies and passions. He enjoyed sharing his love of food and travel with family and friends. He was a fantastic host whether it was a small gathering, a Bears tailgate, or Thanksgiving dinner, spending time with others brought him such joy.     As did tending to his yard and growing his victory garden.

Joe was a lover of the US National Park Service having visited over 20 with Yellowstone and Zion Parks being his favorites. He was married in Lucca, Italy and traveled to over 30 countries. He was fascinated with the Brooklyn Bridge and had a gallery of pictures of the suspension bridge in his home.

Joe loved the city of Chicago and its rich history. He was an avid reader boasting a library of over 1000s of books. His collection included biographies of historical icons and sports figures, military and wartime novels, along with keeping an impressive array of cookbooks. A tenacious reader of The New York Times, and proudly, twice published in the Letters to the Editor. He was an expert conversationalist, who loved to hear a good story and incite a spirited, yet intellectual debate.

Joe was a passionate Boilermaker fan and a die-hard Bears and White Sox fan. Although, many of his favorite baseball memories are from Wrigley Field. And one of his proudest and most surprising golf accomplishments was a hole in one.

Joe was a dedicated son, adored husband, loyal brother, beloved brother-in-law, committed uncle, and favorite among his nieces and nephews. He was generous of heart and kind to all. His infectious laugh and smile will be imprinted on the hearts of those who knew and loved him. He left the world a better place and this is his great legacy.

As a lifetime learner and believer in giving back to the community, Joe volunteered at One Million Degrees. Donations can be made to this effort https://onemilliondegrees.org/ or to The Anti-Cruelty Society https://anticruelty.org/.

A visitation will be held on Friday, April 8, 2022, at 9:00am-12:00pm CT at Kish Funeral Home, 10000 Calumet Ave. Munster, IN. Memorial service to follow at 12:00pm.

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