Mildred Ballinger

Former Tompkinsville resident Carmella (Mildred) Ballinger, 98, of Myrtle Beach, S.C. a loving mother and grandmother who was devoted to her family and church, died Wednesday in her daughter Carol's home in New Hyde Park, N.Y.

Born Carmella LaManna, one of eight children, she lived in Tompkinsville for 80 years before moving to Myrtle Beach, in 1996.

Prior to becoming a homemaker and raising her children, she worked as a seamstress and as a secretary at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Devout in her faith, she was a longtime parishioner of St. Peter's Church, New Brighton.

She enjoyed playing games with her great grandchildren. She also enjoyed solving word search puzzles, watching horror movies and the Catholic mass on television.

Mrs. Ballinger was an excellent cook best known for her "peas and bast" and "daddols" (knot cookies), recipes she gladly shared with her granddaughters.

Also, she was affectionately called "Shame Shame" by her great grandchildren, a nickname she earned while teasing them at bath time.

She always treated me as if I were her own son, we will all miss her deeply, said her son-in-law, Tom Reid

Her husband of 58 years, Ernest, died in 2002.

She is survived by her two daughters, Mary Reid and Carol Golder; six grandchildren and six great grandchildren.

The funeral will be Saturday from the Casey Funeral Home, with a mass at 10:45 a.m. in St. Teresa's R.C. Church, both in Castleton Corners. Arrangements include cremation.

Arrangements under the direction of Casey Funeral Home, Staten Island, NY.