With the heaviest of hearts, the Ballentine family announced the passing of Eric L. Ballentine on Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023, after an extended battle with paralysis.
Eric was born on Oct. 12, 1969, in Syracuse, NY to Robert and Patricia Ballentine. They moved to Trumbull, CT in 1982. Eric quickly adjusted to a new school, where he became a proud member of the Trumbull High School Golden Eagle Marching Band as a saxophone player and made many friends with whom he continued to keep in touch and cherish over the years. Eric attended UMass Amherst and was a member of the Minuteman Marching Band.
Unbeknownst to Eric while in high school, he walked the halls with someone who would later become his lifelong partner and wife. In 1992 Eric met the love of his life, Danielle (Bianco). They married in 1996 and moved to Wilton in 2003. Their marriage was one of true love, happiness and mutual devotion, a true partnership in every respect. They could often be found on a Saturday night dancing to ’80s covers performed by their favorite local bands.
Eric spent the majority of his career at Instinet and UBS in Information Technology, where he was respected and admired by his colleagues and bosses alike. However, Eric’s greatest achievement and priority was his family. Eric truly enjoyed being Danielle’s husband and Julia’s and Robbie’s father. His happiest moments were their nightly family dinners, spending time with Robbie in Cub Scouts, watching Julia perform in her dance recitals, on the sidelines of Julia’s and Robbie’s soccer games, sitting on the couch with them cheering on his beloved Giants, and truly admiring the young woman and young man that Julia and Robbie were becoming. You would be hard-pressed to find a happier, prouder father.
Not surprisingly, most of Eric’s friends from the community were linked to his children and his wife Danielle. His unassuming, kind personality and his humor quickly drew people in. There was nothing Eric wouldn’t do for a friend. He will be sorely missed by all that he touched.
Eric is survived by his wife Danielle and his children, Julia (Wilton High School class of 2018) and Robbie (WHS class of 2022); his parents-in-law Tom and Eileen Bianco of Trumbull; his sister-in-law Nicole (Tony) Berry, of Elk Grove, CA; his brother Steve (Donna) Ballentine of Valrico, FL; his step-siblings, Sherry Ballentine of Brookville, PA, Bob Ballentine (Cindy) of Longs, SC, Sue Ford of Smyrna, TN, and Brenda Leuwerke (Randy) of Eldridge, MO; and his aunt Nancy Ballentine of Brookville, PA. Eric is predeceased by his parents Robert and Patricia Ballentine and several aunts and uncles.
The family will receive friends and family on Sunday, Jan. 8 from 3-6 p.m. at Raymond Funeral Home (5 East Wall St., Norwalk). A memorial service will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 10 at 10 a.m. at Our Lady of Fatima Roman Catholic Church (229 Danbury Rd., Wilton), followed by committal at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Putnam Valley, NY.
To leave an online condolence, please visit the Raymond Funeral Home website. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation or the Alzheimer’s Association.