Master Sergeant (USAF, Retired) Dannie E. Ball, having fought the good fight and having kept the faith, finished his earthly course on 16 February 2010 and reported to his final duty station in Heaven. He was born in Lockland, Hamilton County, Ohio on 14 January 1928 and was the only child of James Elisha and Della Denham (Estep) Ball. On 7 September 1945, he and the love of his life Delores (Dee) Broughton crossed the Ohio River to be married in Newport, Campbell County, Kentucky. They were married for more than sixty four years until his death. Besides his widow Delores, he leaves behind a son, Colonel (USAF, Retired) Gerald Dannie Ball, who resides in San Antonio with his wife Calla Jane (Gibson) Ball, and a daughter, Janet Elaine Valadez of Cibolo, widow of the late Jacob Cisneros Valadez. Other couples Dee and Dannie considered to be like their own children are Betty & David Sippel of Cibolo and Sandy & David Patrick of Seagoville. Dannie's love of God was reflected in his love of God's people. Besides his own children, eight grandchildren, five great grandchildren, numerous cousins, and others connected to him directly, he leaves many others who felt his love and support in times of need and of hope. Truly, he was a blessing to, and was blessed by, a remarkably extended family. Dannie served over twenty one years in the military, enlisting in the Army Air Forces when he turned 18 in 1946 and moving to the United States Air Force when it became a separate service in 1947. His Air Force career as an air traffic controller took him to duty stations in Illinois, Kansas, Ohio, England, Texas, Mississippi, Korea, Louisiana, Virginia, and Spain. After retiring from the Air Force in 1967 at Randolph Air Force Base, he began dramatically varied subsequent careers. First, he worked in the electronic security systems business in Waco. Then he was in wholesale agricultural sales in Dallas for almost thirty years. Dannie and Dee returned to the San Antonio area in 2000 where they became members of First Baptist Church of Universal City. Everywhere he went, he actively served the Lord in a local congregation. He taught Sunday School, was a Sunday School superintendent, served as a deacon, and filled in wherever the people of his church needed his skills and willingness to serve. He was also passionate about his avocation of flying model airplanes. He began with free-flight planes, then moved to U-control flying, and finally to radio controlled models for the last forty five years of his life. He met many lasting friends through model airplane flying. His 31 consecutive year string of flying radio controlled models every New Years Day ended this year when he was hospitalized. Visitation will be at Colonial Funeral Home, 625 Kitty Hawk Road, Universal City, Texas on Wednesday evening, 17 February, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. The funeral will be held at First Baptist Church of Universal City at 12:30 on 18 February followed by burial with full military honors at Fort Sam Houston at 2:00 p.m.
Jerry and Calla Ball
8637 Classic Oaks Lane
San Antonio, TX 78255
jcrsdj@aol.com
