Geraldine Ball

Geraldine spent her childhood in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee. After graduation from the West Allis Central High School in 1942, she was employed as a secretary to the City Engineer of West Allis. Geraldine continued to work that position for 13 years at City Hall.

On June 21, 1947, she married Charles W. Ball of Whitewater, Wisconsin. They lived in West Allis and eventually moved to Whitewater Lake, Wisconsin. They went on to have two children. Son Brian and daughter Victoria.

In 1963, she was employed as a school secretary at Lakeland School in Elkhorn, Wisconsin. She remained at this job for 19 years. In 1964, the family, along with Grandmother Manske-Sullivan, moved to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

In 1983, Geraldine and Charles moved to Texas and lived in a number of places- Lake Travis, near Austin; Temple, Texas; The Island on Lake Travis- a retirement community and in the city of Austin. In 1999, they moved to Midland.

In addition to her secretarial jobs outside her home, she had a high interest in the maintenance and decoration of her home; nutrition and cooking; sewing clothing and household items; reading on a wide variety of subjects- especially humorous articles, cartoons and corny puns; writing lengthy letters to her family and friends; amateur astrology; window shipping at the mall; planning and taking trips; attending musical programs of a lighter nature.

Geraldine’s greatest pride and pleasure was having a son and daughter who developed into attractive adults with intelligence, humor, artistic and willingness to work hard toward their respective goals.

She is preceded in death by her husband Charles W. Ball and parents John M. and Leona Maude Broezel Manske.

Geraldine is survived by her children Brian C. (Jamye) Ball and Victoria A. (R. Scott) Prater, and grandchildren Alexa Prater, Kristen Prater, and Adam Ball.

The family will have a Memorial Service at a later date at Roselawn Memory Gardens near Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.