Geraldine Hager Ball Miller

She was born on July 23, 1931, in Iredell County, and was the daughter of the late Aaron Thomas and Bertha Cloer Hager. She attended Iredell County schools. She worked at Hedrick Manufacturing Company and retired from Hill Haven Rest Home in Statesville.

She was a professional seamstress for herself and her children with her most valued creations being the two wedding gowns she created for her daughters. She was also an avid quilter and made many beautiful quilts lovingly stitched by hand. She enjoyed crafts of all kinds and was a talented cake decorator. She spent many years making wedding cakes and cakes for all occasions. She was also a very gifted artist and painted many beautiful works of art. She always had a big garden and canned many fruits and vegetables.

She taught her children to appreciate God’s wonderful grace and offerings and also taught them to work hard and make a difference in the world. She taught them to be contributors, not takers. She was a devoted, loving, caring and much loved wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. Her four children were her most important attributes, and she always stayed involved in their lives. They and their needs always came first, even before hers. She truly was the World’s Best Mom! She was a woman of quiet strength, a gentle spirit, a simple faith and a strong determination to make the best of any situations or circumstances that came her way. Likewise, she was the best Grandmother ever. The time spent with her grandchildren was always rich. She will never be forgotten. She leaves behind the greatest gift a Mother could leave her family, a Godly legacy.

Mrs. Miller was of the Baptist faith and enjoyed church functions as her health permitted. Her witness was her kind spoken words, loving compassionate actions and presence. She raised her family in the church and taught them the values of the Christian Life. She was dearly loved by her family and all who knew her. She always saw the best in people and touched countless lives with her love and affection.

She was married to the late Charles Guy Ball with whom she had four children. She was also preceded in death by her second husband James Clyde Miller; a son, Jeffery Clayton Ball on March 17, 2011; a sister, Dorothy Southard; and five brothers, Clay, Johnny, Aaron, William, and James Hager.

Geraldine is survived by a son, Robert Eugene “Bob” Ball of Statesville; two daughters, Sharl Dianne Ball Goodman of the home and Kathy Sue Ball Yost (Steve) of Rockwell, NC; five grandchildren, Angela Kay “Angie” Coughenour, Chad Koontz, Josh Yost, Eric Yost and Jason Ball who is proudly serving in Iraq; three great-grandchildren, Alisha Brewer, Jennifer Goodman and Ben Tomas Yost.

Funeral services celebrating Geraldine’s life will be held 2:00 PM Monday, November 14, 2011, in the Westmoreland Chapel of Bunch-Johnson Funeral Home with Pastor Fred Archer officiating. Interment will follow at Oakwood Cemetery.

Pallbearers will be Josh Yost, Eric Yost, Chad Koontz, Wayne Cline, Tony Miller and George William Yates.

The family will receive friends from 6:00 to 8:00 PM Sunday at Bunch-Johnson Funeral Home.

Condolences may be sent to the family online at www.bunchjohnsonfuneralhome.com.

Bunch-Johnson Funeral Home is entrusted with the arrangements.