Richard A. Ballard

Richard A. "Dick" Ballard, 85, of Monmouth, passed away on July 16, 2012 at the Monmouth Nursing Home at 9:44 pm. Dick was born November 23, 1926 in Rock Island, Illinois and is the son of John B. and Sue Parkman Ballard. His early life was in Dubuque, Iowa and LaHarpe, Illinois. He came to the Belmont and Little York area when he was in the fourth grade attending Belmont grade school and graduating from the Little York High School. Dick was drafted and served in the Army as a Technical Staff Sargent stationed in Germany. After returning he married Elizabeth (Betty) Bertelsen on December 28, 1946 in Monmouth, Illinois and she survives. Dick farmed in the Belmont and Little York area until 1960.He owned Automatic Farm Equipment - a dealership for Mix Mill feeding equipment (sales and repairs) along with general contracting . Dick had been a member of and president of the Little York village board, He was a member of the former Little York United Methodist Church, past president and member of Little York Lions Club, and was a volunteer fireman for a time. Surviving are his wife Betty Ballard of Little York, Illinois and six sons, John (Betty) Ballard, Jerry (Rose) Ballard of Little York, Jim (Lolla) Ballard of Monmouth, and Joe (Donna) Ballard of Kirkwood, Jeff (Peggy) Ballard, and Jay (Jean) Ballard of Little York, Illinois. . There are nineteen grandchildren and thirty-three great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, two sisters, one brother, and one great granddaughter and one great grandson. Services:A memorial service will be at 11:00 am on Saturday at Turnbull Funeral Home in Monmouth, Illinois with the family present from 10:00 to 11:00 prior to the service. Interment of his ashes and military honors will follow in the Little York Cemetery. A memorial fund is being established for either the Salvation Army or the Jamieson Center of Monmouth, IL.