Willa Rae Ballard, 75, of Prairie Village, KS passed away, September 3, 2018 at her home. Willa was born September 30, 1942 in Kansas City, KS and moved to Lawrence, KS in 1949. She attended Emporia State University for three years and moved to Kansas City, KS in 1962. She married Richard Ballard on September 9, 1967 and were days away from their 51st wedding anniversary. She became a domestic diva when her boys were born. A hands on mother, Willa was active in PTA, and was room mother and den mother for both boys. She was an avid sports fan and played on some coed softball teams, as well as, being in several bowling leagues. Managing her son’s baseball team, she was very proud to be the only woman coaching in the league, taking them to the Championship Game and winning. She also managed her son in football one year. She was a wonderful cook and enjoyed making a variety of cookies and peanut brittle during the Holidays. Christmas was her favorite holiday; therefore, she would decorate her tree with Swarovski crystals, beautiful ornaments she collected during her travels, and of course, Jayhawk ornaments. Friends marveled at the tree during her Christmas parties. Her hobbies included: reading, fishing, playing cards, completing puzzles and crosswords, collecting baseball cards and autographs. She attended Game 7 of the 1985 World Series. She also attended the 2008 Orange Bowl, which was won by her beloved Jayhawks. After her children were in high school, she spent twelve years working as an office manager at Precision Machine Tool Co.
She is survived by her loving husband and best friend of 51 years, Richard Ballard; two sons, Brad and his wife Barbara and their children, Max and Morgan, and Scott and his children, Arianna, Bianca and Lexi. Lexi and her were real good pals, as Lexi helped Maw Maws cook and get minnows when they went fishing. She is also survived by her niece, Nicole Collins.
A celebration of life will be held 11am with visitation at 10am on Saturday, September 15th at McGilley and Hoge Chapel, 8024 Santa Fe Dr., Overland Park, KS. Following the service, the family will take her to her final resting place at Lawrence Memorial Park Cemetery-Mausoleum in Lawrence, KS, 1517 E. 15th Street, where she will be placed next to her parents, Raymond and Willa C. Schaake. The family would like to thank Good Shepherd Hospice, especially Jessica and Allyson for their kind and loving support. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital at www.stjude.org or KC Pet Project at https://kcpetproject.org/donate/. Online condolences may be left at www.mcgilleyhoge.com
