Mildred (Shramek) Ballard, 20 Apr 1932 - 09 Feb 2019

BALLARD, SHRAMEK, FISHER, LAGRANGE, STEELMAN, MOSER, SIEBELS, HEIMS, KRUSE, UNKEL, UPAH, KINZENBAW, BENDA, GALVIN, NETOLICKY

Posted By: Sarah Witte (email)
Date: 1/15/2020 at 15:32:26

Mildred Ballard, 86, of Marengo, passed away Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019, at St. Luke's Hospital in Cedar Rapids. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Feb. 15, at St. Patrick's Catholic Church, Watkins, with Father Craig Steimel officiating. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery, Marengo.

Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday at Kloster Funeral Home, Marengo, with a rosary recited at 4 p.m. A memorial fund has been established.

Mildred is survived by her children, Ronald (Wendy), Marengo, LeRoy Jr. (Linda), Blairstown, Tom (Kim), Marengo, Bill (Lori), Marengo, Marie LaGrange (Ken Steelman), Amana, and Linda (Galen) Moser, Amana; 17 grandchildren, Julie (Craig) Siebels, Travis (Karla) LaGrange, Troy (Karen) LaGrange, Martin (Melissa) Ballard, Sarah (Brian) Heims, Angela (Jason) Kruse, Melissa (Shane) Unkel, Adam Ballard (Rachel), Terry (Jodi) Ballard, Amy Martin, Ashley Allen, Courtney (Kyle) Upah, Nathan (Stephanie) Ballard, Scott Ballard, Jeff Ballard, Tiffany (Drew) Kinzenbaw and Megan Moser; 39 great-grandchildren; two great-great-grandchildren; and siblings, Marian Benda, Alice Galvin, Roy and Roger Shramek and Rosie Netolicky.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, LeRoy Ballard Sr.; a grandson, Nicholas Ballard; a granddaughter, Christine Ballard; and three brothers, Edward Jr. and Leonard and Ray Shramek.

Mildred was born April 20, 1932, in Swisher, the daughter of Edward Sr. and Eleanor Fisher Shramek. The third child of nine, she spent her childhood on the family farm and attended rural school in Swisher. She met LeRoy Ballard Sr. at a dance in Swisher and they were married on Oct. 30, 1951, at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Marengo. They settled in rural Marengo, raised a family and farmed side by side for nearly 62 years, until LeRoy's death in 2013.

Mildred loved working in her garden, planting flowers, cooking, canning and baking for her large family. Drawing from her Czech heritage, she also loved polka music. She lived to serve and her greatest joy came from taking care of her family. From tending to the animals in the earlier years, to making sure everyone in the fields stayed fed, she worked tirelessly to keep the farm running smoothly. She loved shopping on Sundays and going to the Kalona auctions. She was a member of St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Watkins.

The family would like to thank Courtney, Mildred's granddaughter, for making it possible for her to remain on the family farm, making sure all of her needs were met. Online condolences may be left at www.klosterfuneral.com.

Published in The Gazette on Feb. 12, 2019