Maxine Ellen Del Balzo

1948 – 2025

Maxine Ellen Del Balzo (nee Leff) passed away on December 31, 2025. She was 77. Maxine (Max) was born in Alexandria, Virginia, and grew up in Annandale, Virginia.

Max graduated from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, with a degree in Sociology. Immediately after graduation, Max got to work as a social worker in the City or Baltimore, Maryland. Over her career, she worked as a social worker and systems analyst for the city, the State of Maryland, and the Social Security Administration. She retired in 2011. She lived a life of service that she found very rewarding, but she often joked that retirement was the best job she ever had.

She was an avid skier, softball player, golfer and theatergoer for many years. She met her love, Joe, while working part-time at a recreation center in Laurel, Maryland. The two were married in 1994. In 2011, they moved to Ocean View, Delaware. They spent life enjoying the beach, travel, each other, and friends. After traveling to Europe, they fell in love with a town in Mexico in 2010 and spent the next 15 years getting to know the town and its people during long winter stays. She made many friends there. She so enjoyed those trips, but her greatest joy was spending time with valued friends, both lifelong and new. She was deeply loved by so many because she loved so many deeply.

Maxine is survived by her loving husband, Joe. She also leaves behind a beloved family: her brother, Harold Leff and his wife Teri, her brothers- and sisters-in-law, Michael Del Balzo and his wife Bonnie, Vince Del Balzo and his wife Maureen Kennedy, and Théa Del Balzo. And she leaves behind her cherished larger family: two nephews and seven nieces, seven great nephews, four great nieces, and many more "adopted" nieces, nephews, and their children. She is predeceased by her brother-in-law, Tony Del Balzo, and her parents, Larry and Mildred (Chicky) Leff.

At her request, there will be no public viewing. A Celebration of Life will be held in the Spring. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Brandywine Valley SPCA, the Bethany Beach Fire Department, the Millville Fire Department (all in Delaware), or Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury, Maryland.