Peter Balbi, 59

| January 5, 2011 4:05 AM

Peter passed away peacefully on Jan. 3, 2011, in the arms of his family, at home in Athol after a long illness.

Loving husband to Barbara (nee Schlee), brother to John and Michelle, uncle to Luca, Sarah and Jennifer, brother-in-law to Diane and David. Peter will be greatly missed and fondly remembered by his family and by the many people whose lives he touched both in Idaho and in his home state of California.

Born in San Francisco to Ron and Barbara Balbi on March 25, 1951, Peter was the beloved older brother to John and Michelle. Graduated Saint Ignatius College Preparatory, San Francisco in 1969. Served his country in the United States Army National Guard from 1973 to 1975.

Peter and Barbara were married in 1978 and lived in Healdsburg, Calif., until December 1997 when they relocated to Athol, building their dream home on 10 acres.

Peter was a serial entrepreneur. From restauranteur, owning and operating a wholesale distribution company, vineyard owner, agricultural software designer and computer guru, Peter brought his enthusiasm and humor to everything that he did.

Peter's Italian heritage instilled in him a love of fine food which he passionately prepared, served and ate. Whilst living in Healdsburg, Peter and his friends started the Annual MOB (Mengali - Oberti - Balbi) Cioppino Feed. It was not unusual to feed 400 people a delicious dinner of authentically made Crab Cioppino, sourdough bread and lots of red wine.

As a proud grape grower, Peter's grapes were purchased by high-end wineries such as A. Rafanelli, Chateau St. Jean and Arrowood. Peter's interest in grapes and computers led to his founding of Ladybug Products. Peter wrote a software program that allowed wineries and other growers to track and report chemical and fertilizer application to the relevant state and local authorities, thereby dramatically reducing the amount of time that they needed to spend on paperwork.

After moving to Athol, Peter continued to develop the Ladybug software and also became the local computer expert, gaining many friends and helping local companies with their computer issues. He most recently worked with Eagle Peak Containers in Athol and was also the No. 1 pinch hitter for Movies & More.

Memorial Mass will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, Jan. 7, 2011, at St. Thomas Catholic Church, Coeur d'Alene. A celebration of Peter's life will be held March 25, 2011.