Richard Lea Ballman, age 92, of Gulf Breeze, FL passed away Wednesday, July 11, 2018. He was born in St. Louis, MO on November 1, 1925. His ancestors emigrated from Osnabruck, Germany to the U.S. in 1804 and his father worked as a sales manager for the DuPont Chemical Company on the 10th floor of the Empire State Building. Richard “Dick” graduated from Mamaroneck High School in 1943. He joined the Theta Chi fraternity and graduated from M.I.T. in chemical engineering in 1946. One night in the fall of 1948, he went to a square dance lesson held on the Amherst College football field. Nearly 500 people showed up to learn how to square dance. The young men lined up on one side of the field. When the whistle blew, the line of men walked to meet the women. Dick walked over and stood in front of the woman who would later become his wife of 63 years. (Jane). They married on December 31, 1952. Dick worked at the local Monsanto Chemical Plant and Jane taught science at the Grandby, MA Middle School. Over the next few years they were blessed with four children. In 1970, they moved to Gulf Breeze, FL where Dick worked in the largest nylon plant in the world, in the course of which he published 74 scientific papers and lectured in many U.S. states and several European countries.
He is preceded in death by his wife, Jane.
He is survived by his four children, Anne & Chris Malone, Richard W. & Rosalyn Ballman, Liz & Ron Larsen and Gretchen & J. Seidler; 7 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held at 1:00 p.m., Saturday, July 21, 2018 at Bayview Fisher-Pou Chapel. Interment will follow at Bayview Memorial Park.
The family will receive friends from 12:00 p.m. until service time Saturday.
BAYVIEW FISHER-POU CHAPEL, 3351 Scenic Highway, Pensacola is entrusted with arrangements. Condolences may be offered at www.bayviewfisher-pouchapel.com.
