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Title
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Ball, Benjamin B.
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extracted text
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Detroit Annual Conference
The United Methodist Chu.rch
Information for Memoirs
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Please enclose .a copy of an obitu?-ry"and a pictUre . Th_e picturt:swill _be returned. -
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· .. High schooVcollege information
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Marriage information. _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _......___ _--:---------~----
.Employment information---:-- - - - - -- -- - - - - - - - - - - -- -..:.__
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Record· columnist
I
.
Ben Ball succumbs
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Record Staff Report
STEARNS- The· surprise death
of Record columnist Ben Ball,
whose homey column "The View
from My Side" was enjoyed by thousands of readers each week, has
stunned McCreary County.
Only two weeks ago, the Michigal?native was writing about his
exploits during a recent b Pnr hunt.
At a relatively young age of 64, he
appeared in robust heath until he
suffered a brain abscess that quickly claimed his life.
In addition to using his retirement from Tecumseh Products to
write "The View from My Side," h e
.'
See BALL, Page 2A
acres of grain crops, 600 head of My Side published by newspafeeder pigs per year, raised pers in Kentucky, Tennessee
sheep, ho~ses . and some dairy and Michigan.
Continued from 1
cows; mamtamed a 200-tree
He was a blood drive coordiwas a minister and active civic peach and apple orchard; built . nator for five years; Little
36 x 60 barn and 13 four-story League manager for 10 years
leader.
home;
Following is his obituary:
Am · cut and dcrafted early (named outstanding leader),• :
encan woo
crafts for Family
Resource
Center,
Rev. Benjamin Ball
shows.
Frakes-Harmon Schools presiRetired Tecumseh employee
.He was supervisor of Dundee dent and Bell County Habitat
The Rev. Benjamin Ball, 64, Township (elected), from 1970- for Community.
Stearns, Ky., died Friday, Oct. 1985 ·managing a $750,000 a
He was a Hillsdale County
Interdisciplinary
13, 2000, at Lake Cumberland year budget and oversaw 36 Hospice
Regional Hospital in Somerset. staff; ·· completed an $800 000 Team, · Hospice
chaplain, ·
Funeral services will be local . P?blic library; Du~dee Lenawee County Board on
Wednesday, Oct. 18, at Dundee Townshtp property ·assessor for Family Violence, chaplaincy
United Methodist Church with 18 ;re.ars, overseeing 2,800 prop: staff at Bixby Hospital, Adrian,
the Revs. Sherry Parker and erttes and three · part-time Mich., Lenawee County.
David Gregg officiating. Burial workers;
appointed
to · He also served as director of
will be in Maple Grove Ceme- Wellsville United Methodist Christian Edu~ation, Oneida,
tery in Dundee, Mich.
Chur.ch, 1990! as a local pastor; , Tenn., First United Methodist
Born March 27, 1936, in Mon- appomted to Hope United Church;' a volunteer with Hosroe County, Mich., he was a son Methodist Church in the Red- pice of Lake Cumberland, 1997
of Gera ldean Rankin Ball and bird Missionary Conference, to present; pastor of Mill Creek
the late Stephen Ball.
Frakes, Ky.; commissioned United Church, Corbin District, ·:
He attended a one-room rural National Division Missionary, Kentucky Conference, 1998 to ~
school for seven years; graduat- October 1992; and was serving present; and Oak · Ridge Dised in 1954 from Britton, Mich., as Mill Creek pastor.
trict;· Holston Conference and
Junior and Senior High; some ·
Past United Methodist activi- · Habitat for Humanity.
·1
college course work in taxation ties . over the past 25 years
Preceding him in death was .·j
1
and accounting; and was included outstanding laYJ>er- his father;
· .
•. ·•t
licensed to preach school; five · son, Dundee ~C, _1973; 1978,
Survivors include his wife, \
years course of study for local · short-term
mtsswnary ·to Martha Gregg Ball, · Stearns, ·
pastor attending Appalachian Trinidad, Mexico and Belize; · whom he married Sept. 21, -.'
Local Pastors' School, 1999- served local churches as Sun- 1986; thtee sons, Stephen Ball, .
•
· day school teacher, UMYF Lambertville, Mich., Andrew ·
1999.
He received the Star Chapter counselor, chair, COM, lay Ball, Monroe, Mich., and David .
farmer and State FFA Farmer leader, lay speaker, various Gregg, Chicago, Ill.; two daughawards and was named "Out- work areas, UMM; apportion- · ter.s, Tamara • Douge, · Riga,
standing Young Man of the me~t interpret~r; conferences Mich., and . Sara Gregg,
Year" in 1970 by President ? Cat;tng 9onnec~10n, Communi-. Evanston, Ill.; his mother, GarRichard Nixon.
cat10ns Commtttee, board of ·. aldean Ball Dundee, Mich.- 12
He . worked 36 years · 'with truste~s, Redbird Mi~sibnacy : granachild;en; two . sist~rs, ·1:
Tecumseh Products in the engi- Conference, bo!lrd of directors, · Janet Wagoner, . Tecumseh, z~
neer ·department, ·retiring as 8 · Hender~on .D1strict Disaster · Mich., and Donha Pilbeam .{
~ound and vibr~tion technic~an. coordinato~;; . ..:
_-and Du~dee.
: ·r '· / 1'·1
m May 1991; hfelong farmmg · Hungar/UNCOM .... Taskforce;
Pme Knot Funeral Home was
. .;
background, operating a · 635 and had his column, News from in charge of arrangements.
. ·~
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Record· columnist
I
.
Ben Ball succumbs
~ecord
Stall Report
STEARNS- The· surprise death
of Record columnist Ben Ball,
whose homey column "The View
from My Side" was enjoyed by thousands of readers each week, has
stunned McCreary County.
Only two weeks ago, the Michig~
native was writing about his
exploits during a recent bt>nr hunt.
At a relatively young age of 64, he
appeared in robust heath until he
suffered a brain abscess that quickly claimed his life.
In addition to using his retirement from Tecumseh Products to
write "The View from My Side," he
Columnist Ben Ball
See BALL, Page 2A
· Funeral Services Conducted In Michigan
For Minister, Columnist Rev. Ben Ball
Funeral services were held on
Wednesday in Dundee, Mich. for
Rev. Ben Ball, 64, who passed away
on Friday at Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital in Somerset, Ky.·
Rev. Ball, who was retired from
Tecumseh (Mich.) Products, had
been a regular columnist in recent
years for both The Scott County
News and McCreary County Record,
recal,ing many experiences from the
days ofh is youth in rural Michigan,as
well as offering his personal observations on life in the modem era.
An avid outdoorsmen, he always
appeared -to be in perfect health and
had just recently completed a bear
. hunting expedition to Maine, which
he recounted in a column contained
on page 5 in this edition. He report1 edly developed a brain abscess fol. lowing a recent cold, however, and
his condition continued to worsen.
Rev. Ball, who was the son of
Geraldean Rankin Ball and the late
Stephen Ball, attended a one-room
schoolhouse for seven years, graduating in 1954from Britton (Mich.) High
School. He worked for 36 years with
Tecumseh Products before retiring
as a sound and vibration technician
inl991.
A longtime farmer, he operated
a 635-acre farm, raising grain crops,
feeder pigs, sheep, horses, and dairy
' ..
J\ ior.. J>J. • - , • ••
'
I . ;
'
~
I
cows. He was also electe.d supervisor and property assessor ofDundee
Township from 1970-85 and was involved with activities of the United
Methodist Church over a 25-year
period, including First United Methodist in Oneida; and was serving as
pastor at Mill Creek United Method- ·
i~t Church in McCreary County at
the time of his death. He had also
been a short-term rrtissionary to
Trinidad, ty1exico, and Belize, a Central American nation where he and
other volunteers helped to build a
schoolhouse during a trip about a
year ago that he described in detail in
a series of columns .
In addition, Rev. Ball also t<..' k
part in a number ofcivic activities. He.
was a blood drive coordinator for five
years, a Little League baseball manager for 10 years, took part in Kentucky Habitat for Humanity activities, and served as a volunteer for
Hospice of Lake Cumberland in the
Somerset area.
·
·Survivors include his wife,
Martha Gregg Ball; three sons,
Stephen Ball ofLambertville, Mich.,
Andrew Ball of Monroe, Mich., and
David Gregg of Chicago, Ill.; two
daughters, Tamara Dough of Riga,
Mich., and Sara Gregg of Evanston,
Ill.; two •Sisters, Janet Wagoner of
Tecumseh, Mich., · and Donna
Pilbeam of Dundee, Mich.; and 12
grandchildren and step-grandchildren.
Funeral services were held on
Wednesday at the Dundee (Mi~h.)
United Methodist Church, with Rev.
Sherry Parker and Rev. David Gregg
officiating. Burial was in the Maple
Grove Cemetery in 'Dundee,
Mich.Pine Knot Funeral home was in
charge of local arrangements.
The familly has requested that
expressions of sympathy take the
form ofdonations to: Hospice ofLake
Cumberland, 108 College Street,
Somerset, KY 42501.
REV. BEN BALL
~ .. _.,.~#~ .•.~...... ,...,..-~~...· -·. . _.t:--
REV •.BENJAMIN BALL
1936-2000
P~s
Fonner area supervisor
Benjamin Ball dead at64
The Rev: Benjamin Bruce Ball,
64, of Stearns, Ky., a former
Dundee Township supervisor who
left government for the ministry,
died Friday in Lake Cumberland
Regional Hospital, Somerset, Ky.,
where he had been for two weeks.
Mr. Ball served as Dundee
Township supervisor from 1972 to
1986 and as township assessor from
1972 to 1990. He was instrumental
in getting a new Dundee branch
library built and creating new government offices for the township.
Friends may call from 6 to 8 p.m.
Tuesday and from 9 a.m. until 11
a.m. funeral services Wednesday
at Dundee United Methodist
Church. The Rev: Sherry Parker
and the Rev: David Gregg will officiate. Burial will be in Maple Grove
Cemetery; Dundee. Pine Knot
Funeral Home, Pine Knot, Ky., is in
charge of the arrangements.
Born March 27,1936, in Dundee
Township, he was the son of
Stephen and Geraldean (Bruce)
Ball. He married the Rev: Martha
Gregg on Sept. 21, 1986, in Britton.
Mr. Ball was retired as sound and
vibration
technician
from
Tecumseh Products Co. where he
worked for 36 years. He resigned
as Dundee Township assessor in
1990 to become pastor of the
Wellsville United Methodist
Church n ear Blissfield. At the
time, he wife was pastor of the
Grace United Methodist Church
in Britton.
Rev. Benjamin Bruce Ball, 64,
of Stearns, Ky., passed away on
Friday; October 13, 2000, at Lake
Cumberland Regional Hospital in
Somerset.
·
He was the son of the late
Stephen Ball and Geraldean Rankin
Ball of Duridec, Mich.
Rev. Ball, who was pastor of the
Mill Creek United Methodist Church,
was retired from Tecumshed Products engineering department as a
sound and vibrations technican.
He was a life long farmer and
served as Dundee, Mich. Township
Supervisor and Dundee Township
Property Assessor for 18 years.
Rev. Ball was past president of
the Bell County, Ky., Habitat for
Humanity project, Director of Christian Education at First United Methodist Church in Oneida, and a volunteerfor Hospice of Lake Cumberland
in Somerset.
He was married to Martha Gregg
BallonSeptember21, 1986. Surviving children include three sons,
Stephen Ball ofLambertville, Mich.,
Andrew Ball of Monroe, Mich., and
David Gregg of Chicago, Ill.; two
- daughters, Tamara Dough of Riga,
· Mich., and Sara G~egg ofEvanston,
Ill.; his mother, Geraldean Rankin
Ball of Dundee, Mich.; two sisters,
· Janet Wagoner of Tecumseh, Mich.,
and Donna Pilbeam of Dundee,
Mi<;h.; and 12 grandchildren and
step-grandchildren.
.
Funeral services were held on
Wednesday, October 18, at Dundee
United Methodist Church in Dundee,
Mich. with Rev. Sherry Parker and
Rev. David Gregg officiating. Burial
was in the Maple Grove Cemetery in
Dundee, Mich.
The family has requested expressions of sympathy take the form
of donations to: Hospice of Lake
Cumberland, 108 College Street,
Somerset, Kentucky 42501.
Pine Knot Funeral Home was in
charge of the arrangements.
·-A 1954 graduate · of Britton
Macon High School, he was active
in the United Methodist Church
for more than 25 years. In Dundee,
where he was named outstanding
layman in 1971, he taught Sunday
school, was a lay leader and, in
1978, a short-term missionary to
Trinidad, Mexico, and Belize.
He also m~naged boys' basketball teams aflo Little League teams,
was a blood drive coordinator and
4-H leader, and had a lifelong
involvement in farming.
He was hospice chaplain for the
Hillsdale
County
Hospice
Interdisciplinary Team, was on the
1 Lenawee County Board on Family
Violence, and was on the chaplaincy staff at Bixby Hospital,
Adrian. He also served in the
Family Resource Center at Frakes
Harmony Schools and was president of Bell County Habitat for
Humanity. .. •
· ....
..•v
He was appointed to Hope United
Methodist Church in the Redbird
Missionary Conference, Frakes,
Ky., and commissioned as a
National Division Missionary in
October, 1992. Most recently; he and
his wife were co-pastors of the Mill
Creek United Methodist Church in
Parker's Lake, Ky. He also was a
volunteer for the Hospice of Lake
Cumberland.
He also served as director of
Christian education for First
United Methodist Church, Oneida,
Tenn.
Surviving are his mother
Geraldean Ball Rankin of Dundee:
his wife; three sons, Stephen bf
. Lambertville, Andrew of Monroe
and David Gregg of Chicago; two
daughters, Tamara Douge of Riga
and Sara Gregg of Evanston rn·
two sisters, Janet Wagonet of
Tecumseh and Donna Pilbeam of
Dundee; and 12 grandchildren and
step-grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to
Hospice of Lake Cumberland, 108
College St., Somerset, Ky., 42501.
r
FAMIT.Y PARTICIPATION SHEET
Full legal name of one being remembered: {3 CV\j a m ·,"'
0c± /3 J
Date of Death:
Husband of/ Wife of:
Z. o o
o
ma Y'+k
q
G,
13.rvc c
B"' ! l
Btt II
Infonnation for the short Statement to be read during the service:
(Words of celebration and remembrance.)
..
If member of a c!ergy f:!mily, please list k.'10\\'TI appointments in Detroit Conference:
OR if lay person, please list church membership and conference/district areas of service:
Ya s -to "" - W~ !Is- v; II e IJ .f1. C,
' ~o
Name ofperson/s designated to come forward during service (and relationship to deceased):
MtfY'±~(),. (s pot!sG); GcY'alJ.ca"' Cmo±Wc1'tf able.); Sara
f'
Please reserve
.f
Dttv~~ Gr-~5
(ste-p c-h : lei rc "')
seats for our family and fiiends.
meofa
Who should I contact if additional infonnation is needed?
Name:- Address:_
A
~
Ms. Martha Gr egg Ball
HC 69 Box 275
Stearns, KY 42647· 9751
Relationship:
_ _ Telephone:
Ad?itio~al comments may be written on the ba~k <?fthis f~nn. fVl ~.st
;11 1 ssro~av-'//
fro0rJ. of
Y!)
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h~; ry
C() 111
m',5 s ifl yuJ
-look. ;;. /l1JS>to·t, Tl'if.5 _(Vtl-f) ;11~x;'-<> -r /3f'f:"J..e.. .
Ccu'('S·r 11f S·f-ugt a+ )tpfa~qr/ttttll1 f4~r~ t Scho~J (A l..fS)
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Please return this fonn to me as soon as possible. A stamped return envelop is enclosed for your
convenience. If you have questions please call.
Alice Sheffield, Pastor
Owendale United Methodist Church
Telephone:
Home: (517) 678-4225
E-Mail:
revalice@avci.net
Ben Ball was a complex man who walked a simple path close to God,
God's creation, family and friends.
In spite of our fast-paced world,
Ben managed to never simply "pass through." From the hardware,
to the post office, on the trails of Big South Fork, to the
sidewalks-- wherever he traveled, you knew he'd b~en there,
for he left at least one new friend behind.
We knew Gentle Ben as many things -- pastor, hospice volunteer,
hunter and out ~ doon man, father, carpenter, husband, writer.
Whatever his role, we saw Christ in his words and life. Could he speak to
us now, he surely would say tusing the title of his newspaper
column and book)
"The View from M
Y Side" has never looked better.
March 27, 1936 - October 13, 2000
<'/.llt&n !J corru. to the. E.nd of t:fu. ~
dfruf. tfu;. :lun hru !d fo'l rru:
!J c~Jani no 7.i1:£J. in a gfoom-filul wom
<1Jl4;y C'l!J fo'l a !ouf ~ fou?
.dll1.l.5! rru:
a [utl£., but not too long
ffn_£ouin9 c:Jl/(EmO"-!J
cf?t:u-. !Bt:njamin !B'l-uc£ !Baf.f.
EntE.u.d thii ..£if£
dfnd not with you'l &ad Cowc.d focl7.
March 27, 1936
d?E.rru:rrz.b.c.'l the. loa£. evE. oncG !iha7.c.d--
fh£pa7-taf IJhii ..£if£
.dl!1,L5! rru:,
Gut &t rru: go.
'3o'l tfili l.5 a jou7.nc.:J
c11c. a.f1 11Ul.!t tak.
dfnd c.ach 11Ul.!t go alone..
!Jt 1!i a.f1 a pa:zt of t:fu. mak.c.7. 1! plan.,
October 13, 2000
9-un£7-af c:E£7-uia.Ei
Wednesday, October 18, 2000, 11 :00 a.m.
Dundee United Methodist Church, Dundee, MI
df !iUf on the. wad to horru:.
Officiating
I!M'un you a'l.c. lonc.{y and !iick al. fz.c.a-rt
Rev. Sherry Parker, Rev. David G regg
§o to the. foiE.rul!i we. know
Sinal d?£itlng g:Jfaa.£
dfnd Gu'l!J you'l
!iO't'lOW!i
dV{£j~ nu.,
in doin.g
good dud!--
Cut fd nu. go.
Maple Grove Cemetery
Dundee, Michigan
He was a complex man who walked a simple path close to God, family, friends, and all God's creation:
A walk a sh ort distance from (my) house provides me the opportunity to see the land restoring itself.
I smell th e fresh ness of the earthly soil. How pleasurable ro one's soul to see and hear birds, v.ratch
a nimals of the woods and reptiles all coexisting--each an intricate, important part, not only of the
earth, but to all of mankind. (BB, 1/7/2000)
"My thinking and ways of life don't always correspond vvith our modern society," Ben once said. "Most
American people miss and long for the same things I,. do--a community where the church and God are
the central points of meetings, and where neighbors ~on't pass you by on their cell phones, but h ave
time to stop and visit a while" (4/30/99).
1
In spite of our fast-paced world, Ben somehow managed to never simply "pass through." From the
hardware to the post-office, from the n·ails of the big South Fork to the sidewalks downtown-wherever he n·aveled, you knew he'd been, for he left at least one new friend be hind.
Besides "friend", we know Ben as many things -- pastor, hospice volunteer, hunter, fal11er, handyman,
husband, writer. Whatever his role, he touched all our lives with his words and by his example.
Though we will miss him, we will find comfort in the fact that, could he speak to us now, he surely
would say, "The view from my side has never looked better."
Wife:
Martha Greg Ball, Stearns, KY
Sons:
Stephen Ball, Lambertville, Ml
'Jjou'L Lif£ dicln't pall Gy unnoticuL Clf'u ma'lk of
!JOWl. Life uachc.d out in and inlo many LiCJE-5.,
1
Andrew Ball, Monroe, MI
making a dif(c.urwc.. _i!ifo Wa.M t jllit lluc.d--it wa.1.
David Gregg, Chicago, IL
a wo'lk of kindud f.ouc..
;t
Daughters: Tamara Dough, Riga, MI
Sara Gregg, Evanston, IL
'Jjou'L nu;nW'L!f and lifc. wiLL IWt bc. lo.it, Gut wlff
bc. an £ncou'l.agE-m£nt O'l. path tfza1 othcH may
Parents:
Geraldean Rankin Ball. Dundee, MI
Stephen Ball, deceased
Sisters:
follow, b£.1-t ma'l.W Gy diLigwl, faithful wo'l.k,
f'w!Udy in all pa'l.t.1. of Lif£, wdlingn£ll to
Janet Wagoner, Tecumseh, MI
m.any {lE.opk a.1. you could.
Donna Pilbeam, Dundee, MI
"rwdl don£, good and faithful wuL"
12 grandchildren, step-grandchildren
keLp a.1.
Ben Ball (from a tribute to his mother)
G)Jine @Xnot 0f}unetat @ltome.
Highway 27 & 592
P 0 Box 550
Pine Knot, Kentucky 42635
606-354-9100
---·---·---·---·---
The family of Ben Ball wishes to express our deepest appreciation for
your faithfulness and support in this difficult time. Your many
expressions of hope, love, and sympathy have made a profound
difference, helping us to feel the ways we are woven into a broad
tapestry of friends and loved ones. We have all suffered a deep loss,
and we believe that only together in faithful fellowship will we
experience healing. Thank you for your presence in this process.
BENJAMIN~- --of Stearns K B. BALL, 64
13 inS y., passed away'
m D undeeomerset
'II
' KY· Born
attended
o:nnship, he
Schools . H e comp
Bntton-Maco n
year course 0 f eted a fiveAp pa1achlan
.
L study at the
School. He
ocal Pastors
local
was
. ted
.
pastor at "Wi II app
. om
m 1990 th
e sville UMC
' en beg
ary work in 1992 u:n missionto Kentucky F
at took him
were held'
uneral services
UMC.
ct. 18 at Dundee
~ct.
o'
••
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. . .... ..
...
~
Bal~vereJtd -senj~m\n B.
ste ns,KY '
(Fo erly of Dundee, Ml)
Age 64, died Friday, October 13, 2000.
Husband of Martha Gregg Ball, son o£
Gera\dean Rankin Ball. Funeral serv~
ices, Wednesday 11 a.m. at Dundee
United Methodist Church in Dundee,
Ml. Visitation, TUesday, 6-S -p.m. and
Wednesday, 9-11 a.m. at the Dundee
United Methodist Church.
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Ball, Benjamin B.