BALLANTYNE, Rebecca Ann

BALLANTYNE, LINGARD

Posted By: Conni McDaniel Hall (email)
Date: 5/26/2022 at 10:32:58

Rebecca "Becky" Ann Ballantyne
December 10, 1947 - March 15, 2022

Rebecca Ann Ballantyne, age 74, of West Des Moines, Iowa, was born to William and Beulah (Lingard) Ballantyne on December 10, 1947, in Leon, Iowa. For the past four years she was a resident at the Independence Villages in Waukee, Iowa. She passed away on March 15, 2022, from complications of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Becky attended Lamoni Community Schools graduating in 1966. She received an Associate of Arts degree from Graceland College in 1968, and a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Home Economics from Iowa State University in 1970.

Her 34-year professional career began in 1971, as food service director at Algona, Iowa School District serving students, banquets for community events, the annual Iowa Pork Producers conferences, as well as coordinating meals for relief for survivors of the tornado that devastated the area. She became food service director for the West Des Moines School district. Then she was school food service nutritionist for the Des Moines school district, which also included managing their Summer Meals in the Park program. Becky held the office of president in the Iowa School Food Service Association and was a Midwest Regional Director of the American School Food Service Association. She taught food sanitation certification courses for DMACC and colleges in the Midwest.

She traveled throughout the United States including two cruises to Alaska, to Nova Scotia, Canada, and to Switzerland, Norway, and Denmark. Hobbies included collecting antiques and snowbabies, scrapbooking, designing and selling greeting cards. She was a member of the Iowa Depression Glass Club and served as president from 2001-2005.

Becky was a lifelong member of the Community of Christ Church. Since moving to West Des Moines, Iowa she has been a member of the West Des Moines congregation. She was deeply involved in the life and ministry of the congregation through her leadership, teaching, organizing music, and as pastor.

Becky’s brightest joy was sharing with her niece and nephews and their children. She was everybody’s Aunt Beck whether you were related or not. She showed them all how to have an adventure. She planted the travel bug in them, taking them from the mountains in the west to historic sites in Washington, D.C. She introduced them to new foods, taught them how to grill, pack a cooler for weeklong trips, plan trips and navigate road maps. Summers were only complete after spending a week at Guthrie Grove reunion where they sang campfire songs, and made new friends. Weekends with Aunt Beck were fun filled with crafts – the smell of hot glue, the feel of dry brush over ceramics and playing cards, eating Chinese food, and watching James Bond movies. They will always remember her laughter, and how she helped them understand the importance of family history. She encouraged them to find their own paths. She was like a second mother to them and their boys. There will be no other like Aunt Beck. They miss her, and will always be gratefully for her faith in them and the time they had together.

Preceded in death by her parents, Bill and Beulah Ballantyne; paternal grandparents, Alvin and Lorena Ballantyne; maternal grandparents, Walter and Nellie Lingard; aunts, Dorothy Ballantyne, LaVerne Farnham, and Marjorie Thomas; uncles, Jim and Bob Ballantyne and Elbert Thomas; cousins, Mark Ballantyne, Robert Farnham, and Matt Thomas.

Survivors include her brother, Richard “Dick” and Bonnie Ballantyne of Lamoni, Iowa; niece, Jennifer and Curtis Bartles and sons, Marcus and Joshua, of Ankeny, Iowa; nephews, Nathanial and Sarah Ballantyne of Kansas City, Missouri and Chadley and Laura Ballantyne and son, Walter, of DeLand, Florida; aunt, Nadine Ballantyne of Independence, Missouri; and uncle, Dr. Milo Farnham of Independence; and numerous cousins, other relatives, and friends.

Memorial services will be held at the West Des Moines Community of Christ Church at 10:30 a.m. Friday, May 27, 2022. Graveside services will held at the Rose Hill Cemetery, Lamoni, Iowa at 3:30 p.m. the same day. Memorials to West Des Moines Community of Christ - Youth Camps.

source: www.sladefuneralhome.com