David Balmer: 7th July 1956 - 29th April 2024
At home on Monday 29th April, David passed away peacefully surrounded by his wife Ann and their children, Joanne, Mark and Thomas.
David was a quiet, unassuming and well-respected man who will be remembered by his family, friends, colleagues and counterparts for his kindness, generosity, wisdom, and his un-wavering dedication to the business that he created back in 1979 - Balmers GM.
A tribute
David was born in Nelson, Lancashire to a local farming family and life growing up there was idyllic, marred only by school - he wasn't a fan! Unfortunately, David's father Cyril passed away when he was just 12 years old which meant that the family sadly had to leave the farm and had to knuckle down at school, so when that didn't happen he left school at the age of 15 with no qualifications, but with a strong work ethic that had been instilled into him from an early age and which continued throughout his entire life.
From school, David was straight into work as a greenkeeper at Nelson Golf Club, and as it was back then, if the machinery broke they had to fix it themselves which led onto David repairing some of the members lawnmowers in his Mother's garden shed, and which is where Balmers GM began.
As the business took off, David rented some space from a local company and eventually purchased his own premises in 1987. Now trading for over 40 years, Balmers GM have grown to become one of the largest, dedicated turf machinery dealers in the UK representing some of the biggest names in the industry from our current premises in Burnley, Lancashire and Wakefield, West Yorkshire.
In life and business, David was always honest, straightforward and fair - one of David's many sayings was: 'If you're not good to your word, you're no good for anything'. And that's how many people will remember David - his word was always good. (He also had many other sayings which aren't suitable to publish!).
From the beginning, David put his heart and soul into Balmers GM building the business from scratch, and with the help of his loyal and long-standing employees built the company into what it is today.
Thank you
The Balmer family would like to express their gratitude and thanks to everyone that have sent condolences, cards, flowers and donations to Pendleside Hospice over these past few difficult weeks, where donations came to an incredible sum of £2053.
Also, thank you to everyone that attended David's funeral - it was overwhelming to see so many familiar faces.
David will be greatly missed by many, especially by the team here at Balmers GM - who will continue working hard to grow and develop the business just the way that David would have wanted.
He leaves behind a legacy that will forever inspire us.