Brenda Combs Ball

Brenda passed away on April 12, 2023. She was preceded in death by her parents, Roma and Pauline, and her husband of 58 years, David. She is survived by her brother, Roma Jr.; sisters, Billie and Paula; daughters, Josephine and Leah; grandchildren, Sepp, Anna Clare, and Anton; and great-grandchildren, Enzo and Haven.

At R.J. Reynolds High School, Brenda made lifelong friends. There, she also met the love of her life, David, across a smoky Debate Club room. She described their relationship as Romeo and Juliet with a happy ending. They treasured attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill together.

She received her degrees from UNC-CH: a B.A. (Phi Beta Kappa), M.Ed., Ph.D. in Psychology, and a Post-doctoral Fellowship in Psychology focusing on clinical child psychology at North Carolina Memorial Hospital. She was the Co-Director of Psychological Services in the Child Psychiatry Training Program at Dorothea Dix Hospital for 14 years. She also held various Instructor, Lecturer, and Adjunct Associate Professor positions in Psychology and Psychiatry at Vanderbilt University, UNC-CH, and North Carolina State University. In the second phase of her career, she enjoyed a private practice with dear colleagues.

Brenda’s joys included poetry and writing, especially when read aloud and shared with friends; a good joke told well; playing the piano; listening to stories at family gatherings; and finding just the right shoe.

Brenda supported communities through service on church, professional, and state boards and committees; maintaining long relationships with colleagues; singing in church choirs; engaging with arts and music organizations; and participating in book clubs.

We remember her ear for music; her love of birds and birdsongs; supporting the professional development of others; and her wry humor.

She and her daughters deeply appreciate the care she received and the friendships she made with the caregivers and residents at Springmoor.

A graveside service will be held on May 13 at noon at Oakwood Cemetery, 701 Oakwood Avenue, in Raleigh.

A memorial service will be held on May 13 at 2:30 p.m. at Raleigh Moravian Church, 1816 Ridge Road. Friends and family will gather afterwards in the Fellowship Hall.

Memorial donations may be made to the Moravian Music Foundation, 457 S Church Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27101.