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Among the greatest joys of life are love and kindness, both given and received and among its most important gifts are the family and friends who make that possible. We’ve been fortunate to have been blessed with a wonderful family and many dear friends from whom we have always drawn our greatest strength. So it is that we are turning to you now to ask for any support you may be able to offer us as we deal with the sudden and violent loss of our dad, Don Ball. His shocking and unexpected death has left us facing many challenges, both personal and otherwise, for which we are totally unprepared.
A life well lived is one filled with love and surrounded by family, and our dad was fortunate to have lived such a life. Born in Batavia, Don was one of three children raised by his parents, Nina and Norman. After graduating from Gates Chili High School in 1965, he served two tours of duty as an Air Force mechanic in Vietnam. While there, Don was moved by the plight of the many children he saw who had been orphaned by the war and he was instrumental in establishing an orphanage to help improve their lives, including arranging to have Christmas presents sent from generous friends in Rochester.
After returning from the war, Don established his career, working for many years as a contractor, but his most important roles were that of friend and father. He was blessed with many friends among whom he was known as a caring, funny and compassionate man with a reputation for always being willing to lend a helping hand to those in need. But to us, he will always be our dad – a wonderful, loving family man, and father to Cherie, Jeanette, Ryan, and Shawna as well as a doting grandfather of seven. Among our most treasured possessions are the many happy memories we have of times spent together as a family and one of the hardest parts of dealing with this tragedy is the many more which have been stolen from us and from his youngest grandchildren who will never have the opportunity to know what a wonderful man he was.
Although life is often filled with moments of beauty, wonder and joy, it can also be filled with instances of tragedy and heartbreak, moments of such great pain and sorrow they threaten to take your breath away, making it difficult to make sense of the world, and leaving you to wonder how you’ll go on. Losing our dad in such a violent and senseless way is certainly such a time for us. As we draw together as a family to face the difficult days ahead, we take comfort in knowing we have such loyal and caring friends and family who have always been there for us. From the bottom of our hearts we thank you for continuing to show us that even in this time of unimaginable loss and heartbreak the world can still be a beautiful place filled with love.
A life well lived is one filled with love and surrounded by family, and our dad was fortunate to have lived such a life. Born in Batavia, Don was one of three children raised by his parents, Nina and Norman. After graduating from Gates Chili High School in 1965, he served two tours of duty as an Air Force mechanic in Vietnam. While there, Don was moved by the plight of the many children he saw who had been orphaned by the war and he was instrumental in establishing an orphanage to help improve their lives, including arranging to have Christmas presents sent from generous friends in Rochester.
After returning from the war, Don established his career, working for many years as a contractor, but his most important roles were that of friend and father. He was blessed with many friends among whom he was known as a caring, funny and compassionate man with a reputation for always being willing to lend a helping hand to those in need. But to us, he will always be our dad – a wonderful, loving family man, and father to Cherie, Jeanette, Ryan, and Shawna as well as a doting grandfather of seven. Among our most treasured possessions are the many happy memories we have of times spent together as a family and one of the hardest parts of dealing with this tragedy is the many more which have been stolen from us and from his youngest grandchildren who will never have the opportunity to know what a wonderful man he was.
Although life is often filled with moments of beauty, wonder and joy, it can also be filled with instances of tragedy and heartbreak, moments of such great pain and sorrow they threaten to take your breath away, making it difficult to make sense of the world, and leaving you to wonder how you’ll go on. Losing our dad in such a violent and senseless way is certainly such a time for us. As we draw together as a family to face the difficult days ahead, we take comfort in knowing we have such loyal and caring friends and family who have always been there for us. From the bottom of our hearts we thank you for continuing to show us that even in this time of unimaginable loss and heartbreak the world can still be a beautiful place filled with love.