Carl Wesley Ballard of Wayland died Tuesday. He was 92.
He was born Oct. 16, 1932.
Carl enjoyed hunting and spending time outdoors boating and camping. He worked for more than 30 years at Irwin Seating Company and had many friendships develop from his time there. Carl deeply loved his faith and his family and cherished time spent with his wife, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren at their home on the lake and winters spent in Florida with his grandchildren who lived there.
Carl enjoyed U of M football, Tigers baseball, and watching his grandchildren and great-grandchildren playing sports. He enjoyed many vacations in the RV traveling all over the United States doing Sowers projects.
Carl served his country in the United States Army during the Korean Conflict. He was also known for his wonderful, yet dry sense of humor – always looking for a chuckle.
Carl is survived by his wife of 69 years, Marion Ballard; children Douglas Ballard, Dawn (Billy) Chavis, Donna (Barry) Felten, Barb (Jonathan) Schaefer, Janece (Tom) Shelton, Christine (Raymond) Passchier; grandchildren Jeff Ballard, Steve (Alicia) Ballard, Mandy (William) Walker, Justin (Misty) Chavis, Jeremy (Desirae) Chavis, Jordan (Danielle) Chavis, Ian (Lauren) Felten, Colin (Hailey) Felten, Maddy Felten, Seth (Janel) Schaefer, Kathryn (Andrew) VanDerMeer, Kyle (Esther) Schaefer, Rae Lynne (Kody) Walker, Sarah (Tyler) Artzer, Hannah Shelton, Anneliese Passchier, Lillian Passchier; 17 great-grandchildren; sister, Lola Wyrick; and numerous extended relatives and friends.
Carl was preceded in death by his parents, George and Hazel Ballard; daughter-in-law, Karen Ballard; brother-in-law, Ivan Wyrick; and siblings Roy Ballard, Elmer Ballard, and Theola Wyrick.
A funeral celebrating Carl’s life will be held at noon Tuesday, Dec. 3, at Moline Baptist Church (where he attended since age 3), 4428 Chapel St., with visitation from 11 to 11:45 a.m. prior to the service. In memory of Carl and in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Moline Baptist Church.
