BALLARD, WIllis E.

BALLARD, DOYLE, OPKIS, LUPERENIA, DEKRUIF, MCKAY, HARBISON

Posted By: Sharon R Becker (email)
Date: 11/25/2018 at 00:05:10

Obituary ~ Willis E. Ballard
July 21, 1920 ~ October 29, 1995

The Globe Gazette
Mason City, Cerro Gordo County, Iowa
October 31, 1995

MASON CITY -- Willis E. Ballard, 75, of 1038 17th St. N.E., died Sunday (Oct. 29, 1995) at the Veterans Administration Hospital, Des Moines.

Funeral services will be held 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at Trinity Lutheran Church, 213 N. Pennsylvania Ave., with the Rev. John "Jack" Gannett officiating. Burial will be in Memorial Park Cemetery with full military rites by the Mason City Veterans Memorial Association.

Memorials may be given to the Willis E. Ballard Memorial Fund.

Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. today at Major Erickson Funeral Home, 111 N. Pennsylvania Ave., and one hour prior to services at the church.

Willis E. Ballard was born July 21, 1920, in Kansas City, Mo., the son of Ambrose Ballard and Alma (nee) Doyle Ballard. Willis moved to Mason City at an early age and attended schools in Mason City.

In 1941, he enlisted in the United States Army and served in World War II. He was discharged in 1945. Willis married Edith L. (nee) Opkis on Dec. 18, 1948, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Mason City. He worked over 30 years for different glass companies in the Mason City area. In the early 1970s Willis worked at the Cerro Gordo County Courthouse as a custodian.

Willis enjoyed helping others whenever he could, by fixing radios, TVs, helping with electrical, plumbing work and was a self-taught locksmith. He was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church, VFW and the American Legion.

Survivors include his wife, Edith L. Ballard of Mason City; one son, Dale Ballard and his wife, Verna, of Alger, Wash.; one sister, Jennie Lupereni of Redding, Calif.; three grandchildren, Jennifer DeKruif, Michelle McKay and her husband, Mark, and Keith Harbison; three great-grandchildren, Cameron DeKruif, Lindsey Jo McKay and Whitney McKay.

He was preceded in death by his parents, one brother and one sister.

Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, November of 2018