Life Sketch of Gerald Glenn Ball (written by Joy Moss Ball)

Life Sketch of Gerald Glenn Ball (written by Joy Moss Ball)

On a chilly Halloween night in 1944, when most youngsters were out trick-or-treating, a 5 pound 10 ounce baby boy put in his appearance at the Maternity Home in Rexburg, Idaho. His parents, Glenn John and Ida LaVeve Harris Ball were told their young son was born with a heart murmur and would probably not survive the night. Gerald Glenn Ball lived through the night, and his life from that point was filled with miracles.

Upon his arrival home to Salem, an older sister, Lucein, greeted him. Max, Carol, and Marvin later joined the family.

Although he was on medications every day and visiting doctors regularly for his health condition, this didn’t keep him from playing trucks and tractors with Max. They had quite a farming community, including houses, barns, garages and bridges. Fences made from sticks and string kept the animals in the pasture. Hay bales were made by compacting grass into an old Spam can, and then tying them with string. Gerald liked to load and haul the animals in his semi cattle truck.

He also enjoyed visiting grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins. The family often went to Grandpa Harris’s for Sunday dinner. Visiting Uncle Melvin and Aunt Lula was great fun because he loved watching the dust fly behind the car as they drove over the desert roads. Gerald liked to help Uncle Fay gather the eggs, feed the horse and ride in the jeep out to irrigate the fields.

Gerald’s father drove a milk truck, and Gerald thought it was great to get to ride along, especially when they drove through high drifts of snow.

A favorite Christmas was when Gerald received an electric train. He would set a bar of soap on the track just to see if the train had enough speed and power to knock it off, or if it would derail.

Gerald loved to make other people happy. One Christmas he and Max had saved up enough money to buy their mother new carpet for the living room. This was something she had wanted for a long time.

Hide and Seek, Fox and Geese, Annie-I-Over, putting puzzles together, or building model cars were favorite childhood activities. Gerald loved to go fishing at Warm River, Robinson Creek or just along the Teton River. He enjoyed nature and going on drives to Jackson to watch the elk. He liked swimming at Green Canyon, family reunions, floating the river, fish fries and visiting with his brothers and sisters.

Snowmobiling was a fun winter sport. He would go with his brothers and they would often see wild animals such as deer, elk and moose. They would feed the fish at Warm River, drive to Bear Gulch and on up the tracks to the tunnel.

Marvin and Gerald went traveling quite a bit. Some of the places they visited included the Oregon Coast, New Port Beach, Arizona, Utah and Nevada.

Because of his health condition, some questioned whether Gerald should attend public school. Grandpa Harris encouraged Gerald’s parents to send him, so he started first grade at the Park School in Sugar City. He adjusted, and did just fine, although he could not participate in sports. As a senior in high school, he did join an intramural volleyball team, however, and they took first place.

In High School Gerald was a member of FFA and raised Yorkshire pigs. Together, he and Max had 60-80 hogs. Gerald went to the district and state livestock convention in Moscow.

He also participated in industrial arts and built a bookcase for his mother.

While very young, Gerald learned to love and appreciate music. His mother taught him how to play the piano, and when he was older, the accordion. He didn’t have much of a singing voice, but that didn’t stop him from trying. He sang in the Salem Ward choir.

Gerald had a very special way with animals. Two of his favorite cows were Betsy and Bossy. It was not unusual to find him in the corral with his arm around the cows petting and talking to them. Gerald, Max and Marvin would get up at 5:00 every morning to milk 8-10 cows by hand. They would also feed and hand pump water for the animals. One time, however, he didn’t see eye to eye with a rooster. Throwing a rock, he hit the rooster in the head and killed it. The consequence of his actions was that he had to pluck the bird. Gerald’s father taught Gerald how to plow and run a tractor. At nights during his teen-age years, Gerald would take his turn doing custom plowing for the area farmers.

Taking the Studebaker truck to Ashton for firewood was always a family project. The wood would be taken home and stacked to be used to heat the house during the winter. Gerald took his turn keeping the wood box full.

During spud harvest, Gerald picked potatoes by hand with his mother, Lucein and Max. They would pick between 350-400 sacks a day. Working in the potatoes and in the family garden helped Gerald learn to be a hard worker.

Gerald liked mealtime with the family because everyone was there together. His favorite foods mother made were new potatoes with creamed peas, baked squash from the garden and homemade bread and jam. His favorite dessert was homemade ice cream and pumpkin pie with lots of whipping cream.

Gerald was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on November 1, 1952 by his father, and confirmed the next day. When he was a teenager, Gerald became interested in genealogy work. He would drive his mother to Shelley to the genealogy library to do research on the Harris line. He also took her to visit relatives and gather family information. In later years he helped Carol copy records by hand on the Young line. Gerald graduated from Seminary in 1962 and from Sugar Salem High School in 1963. Shortly after graduation he took a course in upholstery, and upholstered some of the furniture at home. Gerald also enjoyed working with leather. He made himself wallets, belts, and other projects.

Gerald and his father owned the G&G American Service Station in Sugar City. It was a full-service station and it was here that he got to know and love the people of Sugar City. He worked hard and long hours helping people with their auto needs. Gene Pincock, Delmo Smith, and Reuben Bischoff were some of his favorite customers.

Working for his brother Max gave Gerald the opportunity to buy his first pick-up, a blue 1974 Chevy. He lived in an apartment in Rexburg with his brother and sister. After the flood, Marvin and Gerald bought a trailer and rented some land from Uncle Fay to put it on. He decided to find another job, as farming work was long, hard hours for his health. He got a job working as a parts runner for Stoddard Mead Ford. Then he went to work for Bearing and Industrial Sales in Idaho Falls. Soon the company had him managing the store in Rexburg. Gerald worked for Bearing and Industrial Sales for 26 years where he happily helped others, even if it was inconvenient for him. His phone number was listed as the after hours emergency number. Many times he would go over to the store early, on holidays, or his day off to help a farmer during spring planting or harvest. He always knew where all the parts were in the store and had a good stock on hand. He spoke often of his respect for those customers that were honest in their dealings with him. Tom Felts and Vaughn Bingham, the owners, were men Gerald greatly admired.

When Carol returned home from her mission, she encouraged Gerald to attend the single adult program. It was there that he met his future wife, Joy Moss. After attending several of the activities, Gerald finally worked up enough courage to ask her out and their first date was going to the temple.

As they dated, they enjoyed doing simple things that didn’t cost a lot of money and provided time to talk and get to know each other. Picnics to the sand dunes, playing at the city park, walks along the river, driving to Mesa Falls, wading in water when Gerald flood irrigated the lawn, working in the garden, and going after fire wood were just a few of the fun times they shared.

When he took Joy to Carol’s house he would always walk in and say, “Here I am and I’ve brought a ‘little joy.’ Gerald always felt welcome in the Moss home and was loved by Darrell, Verla and the rest of the family.

Gerald and Joy were married in the Idaho Falls Temple on the 19th of December, 1981. They felt such happiness being surrounded by family and friends on this special day. After the luncheon, when Gerald went out to his pickup, he found that he had locked the keys inside. That event was laughed about each year on their anniversary.

Joy and Gerald’s first home was Grace and John Morgan’s basement apartment. What good landlords they were. Gerald had a great deal of respect for John and his abilities.

Early in 1982 Gerald went to a heart specialist in Idaho Falls. It was at this time, following a heart catherization, that Gerald was diagnosed with a ventricular septal defect and Eisenmenger’s physiology. Arrangements were made for him to go to the LDS hospital in Salt Lake City, where Dr. Russell M. Nelson would perform open-heart surgery and repair the hole in his heart. Gerald and Joy both felt very comfortable having a surgeon who had operated on President Kimball perform this procedure.

Joy was pregnant with Jilene at this time and had some unsettling thoughts because of the risk involved with open-heart surgery. She and Gerald attended the Jordon River Temple before he was admitted to the hospital. The “What if…” questions were heavy to bear. But, while standing in the prayer circle, a feeling of peace overcame Joy and she heard the words, “Do not worry. Everything is going to be alright.”

When Joy arrived at the hospital the next morning, Gerald was dressed and ready to go home. Doctor Nelson had gone over the tests, x-rays, and then gone to his office to pray about this patient. He was told that if he operated on Mr. Ball he would die and he should just send him home. How blessed they were to have a doctor who relied on a higher power.

On Christmas Eve, 1982, Darla Jilene was born. Two years later, on February 19, Aaron Gerald joined the family.

Gerald used to give his brothers and sisters lots of advice on how to raise their children. But after having two of his own, Carol said they never heard another peep out of him about child rearing.

In 1989 the Balls moved into their present home. Gerald was gifted at taking care of the sprinkling system, replacing sprinkler heads, building hoses to efficiently water the garden, maintaining the automobiles, lawn mower and snow blower. He practiced provident living and being self-reliant.

Neighbors were important to Gerald. Many times Joy would look out the window to see what he was doing in the garden and there he was, arm resting on the shovel or hoe, visiting with Delmo Smith and Gary Wood.

Gerald’s wife and family were his first priority. He was a gentle and caring husband and father. Gerald loved Joy. He encouraged her to become all she could be as a mother, an educator, and a woman in the church. Because of the uncertainty of his health, he and Joy felt that she should continue to teach and keep up her certificate. He often expressed how his opinion of teachers changed as he saw the time it took to be effective in reaching and teaching so many.

As Joy served in Relief Society and Primary Presidencies, Gerald never once complained about her being gone in the evenings or on Saturdays for meetings. He supported her in these callings and often spoke of the growth he could see in her as she served in these capacities. He was a great sounding board for lesson ideas and offered suggestions when frustrations were high.

Giving the children their baths, changing diapers, reading bedtime stories, rocking them to sleep---these were all things that Gerald loved to do. When Aaron would be up all night with earaches, Gerald took turns holding and rocking him so Joy could get a few hours rest.

He loved getting down on the floor with Jilene and Aaron and never lacked in imagination for pretending. This was evident, too, on the several occasions when he took his children to the Children’s Museum in Salt Lake.

One year for Christmas Aaron received an electric train from Santa. Santa must have been late making the rest of his rounds because he sure spent a long time playing with that train at the Ball house.

When the weather was nice Joy and the kids would pick Gerald up after work and go to a nearby park for a picnic and playtime on the park toys. Two favorite places were Beaver Dick Park and Cave Falls.

After Marvin and Christie moved to the farm, Gerald loved taking Jilene and Aaron out to the pond to go fishing. They sometimes had to fight mosquitoes, but catching a few fish more than made up for the itching.

The Balls enjoyed taking family trips together during potato harvest when the weather was cooler and the crowds not so thick. Joy would request guides from the tourist bureau months ahead of time and the whole family would plan what to see and where to stay. They visited South Dakota, Spokane, the Oregon Coast, San Francisco, several National Parks and many places in Utah and Idaho.

Seeing the beauties of this earth brought great joy to Gerald. He loved nature. When everyone else wanted to take the interstate, Gerald preferred to go the scenic route and stop along the way. Lunch breaks, which were usually a picnic packed that morning, were taken at places where the family could rest, take a little walk, or explore.

Some of Gerald’s fondest memories were created when he and his family went camping at Red Fish Lake. Building sand castles near the water, outdoor cooking, going for bike rides, singing around the fire and playing dominoes were great fun. One night at 10:00 the camp custodians had to quiet the group down for being too noisy with a card game.

During the summer when the Darrell Moss family reunion was held, Gerald looked forward to camping at Buffalo campground. The highlight of the reunion was floating Box Canyon in the rubber raft and hearing Grandpa Moss tell all of his fishing stories.

Every year in June, Gerald’s brothers and sister could expect a call from him wanting to know if they needed to make a ‘cherry run.’ If they did, he would be there to pick them up in his van early in the morning, and off they would go to Utah to pick cherries. The van would be filled with the red fruit, some of which would be given away to friends and neighbors.

Gerald did not like amusement parks and refused to go to Disneyland. He did take his family to Lagoon a couple of times, but never went on any of the fast rides. When Joy, Jilene and Aaron rode the sky lift from one end of the park to the other, Gerald preferred to walk the whole way.

As a father, Gerald was proud of the accomplishments of his children and always wanted to be involved in their activities. He made time to attend football games, cross-country and track meets, musicals, band concerts, as well as junior miss pageants and drill team competitions. He was one of a kind when he wore his t-shirt with a picture of the Digger Darlingz on the back and the words “Jilene’s Dad” printed on the front. He attended parent teacher conferences, always asking if his kids were participating and respectful. This was as important to him as their grades.

Movies and TV were not of much interest to Gerald. He seldom would watch them, unless it was a Disney movie the family went to together. One time when Jilene had a daddy-daughter party the girls were asked what TV show their dads liked best. Jilene answered correctly when she said her dad liked the weather channel.

Gerald was faithful and dependable in his church responsibilities. His example of never turning down a church calling will influence his family for years to come. He and Joy taught Primary together for a short time. Then Gerald was called as a clerk for the Sugar City 2nd Ward, where he served under four bishops---Dee Harris, Gerald Jeppson, Richard Luke, and Bill Barnhill. He had such love and respect for the brethren with whom he served. There was no question in his mind that they were inspired men of God. Gerald looked forward to the special Priesthood Sessions at the temple with these men. Serving as a Stake Missionary with his wife was a fun calling. Gerald enjoyed the weekly correlation meetings, visiting families, and arranging splits for the elders.

His next calling took him out of second ward to serve as a clerk in the Ricks College 5th Stake. Gerald was very conscientious about turning reports in on time and training ward clerks correctly. He wanted to leave by 6:30 on Sunday mornings so that he could have the room ready for meetings.

Gerald truly looked forward to making his home teaching visits each month. He was especially happy when Aaron became his partner.

In February of 2002 Gerald’s health declined. He was unable to return to work and required oxygen both night and day. Doing name extraction was something Gerald could do and he was blessed as he deciphered the names. He was grateful to be able to go to Sacrament Meeting each week, pulling his portable tank behind him.

The day before Thanksgiving, 2003, Gerald felt like he needed to go to the doctor. His oxygen saturation levels were so low he required immediate hospitalization. The next two months were spent at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center and the University of Utah Medical Center. Doctors, nurses, and technicians worked valiantly to help Gerald return to the quality of life he could enjoy. During this time he never gave up hope that he would be able to return home. Gerald constantly expressed gratitude to those who served him in any way. His relationship with these people changed from patient to friend. Gerald felt like they were part of his family.

During this time Joy was constantly at his side. Her gentle acts of helping him created an even deeper bond of love. The soft touch on his cheek, the squeeze of a hand, and a hundred other unspoken communications were shared.

When Gerald was transported to Utah, Joy’s mother, Verla accompanied her to the hospital. She became a source of comfort and support for both Gerald and Joy.

His last weekend was filled with expressions of love and reminiscing, as Gerald was able to visit with his brother, sisters, children and extended family members. He knew in his heart that it was time for him to return home to his Heavenly Father. He had fought a good fight, kept the faith, loved and served his family and fellow men.

On Monday, February 2, during the last hours, as his wife sat with him, she felt impressed to write the following words:

My love---

I see you here,

mere shadow

‘neath the coverlets of

white and green.

Assisted comfort;

Evidenced by shallow movements

of life’s breath in lungs and heart

long tortured

by frailty of birth.

And still,

You are my champion---

exempler of all that’s good

and true;

So patient

in long-suffering.

Quiet faith

in His plan,

for now, and when you

view His face.

Standing bravely---

Though body steps

toward the dust,

Spirit waits

to SOAR.