Thomas Scott Ballard

Tom was born July 17, 1947, in the Cabarrus Memorial Hospital to Garnett F. Ballard and Betty Louise Sechler Ballard. He attended Winecoff School in Concord first through twelfth grades graduating in 1965. He also was mascot for the Class of 1951. He was a standout outfielder for the Blue Devil baseball team leading the team in batting stats (as a lefty), his senior season. He joined the US Air Force in 1966 serving as a refrigeration technician at NORAD Radar sites in Maine and completed his USAF service with a tour of duty in South Vietnam. In 1970 he joined the family appliance service business serving Cabarrus and Rowan counties until 1987. He later was an appliance technician for Sears and several other companies in Charlotte and the Outer Banks. After reading the book "Kon-Tiki" in high school, Tom had the dream of living in the South Pacific and enjoying all that paradise had to offer. Later in life he fulfilled his dream by moving to Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands working as the "Maytag Repairman" for the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site (RTS) community.

Tom always loved being on the water whether it was at the lake as a boy on Lake Tillery, at his favorite uncle's beach house on Saint Helena Island, SC or the Outer Banks. If you had a conversation with Tom, it for sure had his latest fishing tale (with photos), prominent in the discussion. Tom was a dog lover, especially, Border Collies. It was a touching footnote to this love, for his latest companion Mollie, to be found laying by his side on Sunday.

He was preceded in death by his father and younger brother Joseph Alexander. Survivors include his mom, Betty Ritchie of Kannapolis; son, Joshua Scott Ballard(Lisa Hill) of Media, PA; daughter, Katherine Starr Ballard of Clifton Heights, PA; grandsons Andrew and Matthew; Sister-in-Law Robin of Kannapolis; a brother, Bill of Atlanta, GA., and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

Burial will be at Beaufort National Cemetery in Port Royal Island, SC on April 15, 2025 at 11:00 a.m.

In memory of Tom, the family asks that you consider a donation to the COPD Foundation, 3300 Ponce de Leon Boulevard, Miami, FL 33134, or online at https://www.copdfoundation.org/Ways-to-Give/Donate/Donate-Now.aspx

Cotten Funeral Home & Crematory is honored to serve the family and friends of Thomas Scott Ballard.