Marjorie Ellen Ballas

Marjorie was born on Sunday, February 28th, 1937, in Uniontown, Washington to father Francis William Druffel and mother Anna Marie Braun Druffel. She grew up on a farm in the town of Johnson, Washington with her two sisters and brother. The family were active members of St. Gall Catholic Church in Colton, WA where Marjorie received the sacraments of Baptism, First Communion, and Confirmation. While still at home Marjorie helped on the farm, even driving a large farm truck. Marjorie attended high school at Notre Dame Academy in Colton, WA and graduated in 1955. She went on to attend Holy Names College in Spokane, Washington where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Home Economics in 1959.

After graduation, Marjorie moved to Seattle and worked for Carnation, assisting with marketing and merchandising in stores. She was a member of the Chancellor’s Club, a Seattle-based Catholic singles organization. That is where she met Jack Ballas, a Boeing engineer from Colorado. The two hit it off and the story goes that when Jack proposed, Marjorie stated “I’ll give you an answer in a month.” Fortunately, the answer was “yes” and she married Jack Ballas on July 15th, 1961. They recently celebrated 64 years of marriage. A faithful servant of God, she lived a life devoted to her faith, family, and community. Marjorie was a devout member of the church and regularly attended mass at St. Louise Parish, St. Madeleine Sophie, and St. Monica’s.

Marjorie found great joy in gardening, fashion, and organization, but above all she was always striving to live out the values of her faith. On the weekends, Marjorie, Jack, and their six children spent time together at their cabin on Lake Cushman.

Marjorie is survived by her loving husband, Jack Ballas of Bellevue; her sister, Connie Palmer of Lynnwood; her children: Michele (Ben) Wells of Kona, Hawaii, Michael (Shaunna) Ballas of Snohomish, Dale (Wendy) Ballas of Cle Elum, Lori (Jay) Pittenger of Ellensburg, Dave (Annette) Ballas of North Bend, and Gary (Angie) Ballas of Redmond, WA; grandchildren: Kyle, Breanna, and Natalie of Sammamish, Lindsey (Brett) of Bellingham, Kyra, Jillian, and Mason of Snohomish, Shane (Jasmine) of Cle Elum, Amber of Enumclaw, Ashley of North Bend, Kevin (Rae) of Renton, Joel (Kristin) of Carnation, J.D. (Emily) of Kent, Justin of Bellevue, and Monica and Fiona of Redmond; her 9 great-grandchildren: Cyprus, Zoe, Mavrick, Emilia, River, Reece, Tatum, Nora, and Valerie.

She was preceded in death by her sister, Lola Busch; brother, Ed Druffel, and grandson, Colby Ballas.

A funeral mass will be held on Thursday, September 11, 2025 at 11:00 AM at St. Louise Parish, 141 156th Ave SE, Bellevue, WA 98007. A reception at Sunset Hills Funeral Home, 1575 145th PL SE, Bellevue, WA 98007, will immediately follow Mass. Interment will take place at Sunset Hills Memorial Park on Friday, September 12th.

May your heart be quiet,

May peace run deep,

May your memories reflect

All the love you have known