He was born in Newnan, Georgia on March 14, 1928, the son of John C. Ball and Mrs. Alberta (Lovern) Ball. Shortly following, the family moved to Athens, Tennessee where he lived for several years. He graduated from McMinn County High School in 1946. After a short residence in Lafayette, Georgia the family moved to Milledgeville, Georgia where LTC Ball graduated from Georgia Military College in 1950. He then attended and graduated from the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. Upon graduation, he received a regular Army commission as the distinguished Military Graduate. LTC Ball remained on active duty for 23 years and retired on June 1, 1973. His service included two tours in Korea, one during the war, and two tours in Vietnam during the conflict. Upon return from his first tour in Korea, he married his longtime love, Ruth Carolyn Mozo in Milledgeville, Georgia on November 13, 1954. Following they had tours in Hawaii where their son, Alan Ray Ball was born. Other tours were following on ROTC Instructor Duty, several schools, including advanced Infantry, Airborne, Command and Staff College, Special Forces and several others.
Upon retirement in 1973, LTC served as a Jr. High School teacher and later he graduated from Emory University Medical School as a Physician Assistant. He worked for the school as assistant Professor in the Physician Assistant Department for 16 years. He then worked in several outpatient clinics. Following retirement from Emory, while serving as a teacher he received a Master’s degree from Georgia State University. He and his son Alan who was a Physician Assistant served in an outpatient clinic they established in Hayesville, North Carolina for six years. After his final retirement in 2007, he and his wife, Ruth resided in Columbus, Georgia where they served at Wynnbrook Baptist Church as a lay person until he was unable to continue. He was a faithful church member and layman for 62 years.
LTC Ball is survived by three granddaughters: Nichole (Ball) Palmer of Murphy, NC, Andrea (Ball) Hayden of San Francisco, CA and Cherilyn Ball of Hayesville, NC. They are the children of Alan Ray Ball who passed away in March of 2006. He is also survived by his two great grandchildren, Alaina Ruth-Marie Palmer and Leah Rae Palmer.
Funeral services with Military Honors will be held on Tuesday, December 6, 2022 at 2:00 pm in the Edgewood Hall of Striffler-Hamby Mortuary, Columbus, GA. with Dr. Craig Bowers and Dr. Kevin Calhoun officiating. Interment to follow in Parkhill Cemetery. A visitation for family and friends will be one hour prior to the service.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.shcolumbus.com for the Ball family.
