Donnie Ruth Ball

Donnie Ruth Ball passed away on April 11, 2026, in Oklahoma City. She was the beloved wife of J. Robert “Bob” Ball, with whom she shared 68 wonderful years of marriage.

Donnie was born on January 14, 1931, in Shawnee, Oklahoma, to I.O. and Delpha Jeffries Brown. In 1932, her family moved to Cushing, Oklahoma, where she attended grade school until 1942. During World War II, the family relocated to Oklahoma City so her father could work at Tinker Air Force Base. Donnie attended Taft and Harding Junior High Schools and graduated from Classen High School with the Class of 1948.

She attended Oklahoma City University for two years and worked as a bookkeeper for Lumber Supply. During her junior year she transferred to the University of Oklahoma, where she met Bob on a blind date. On September 4, 1953, they were married at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Following their marriage, Donnie and Bob lived in Fort Worth, Texas, before moving to Oklahoma City in 1957. Donnie was a faithful member of Asbury United Methodist Church, where she sang in the choir. She and Bob joined a Young Married Couples Sunday School class, forming friendships that lasted more than 60 years, with the group gathering almost every month throughout that time.

Donnie had a lifelong talent for bookkeeping and accounting. She worked for Kelley Girls before settling at French Distributing, where she remained until their move to Shawnee, Kansas, in 1982. While living in the Kansas City area, she worked for WEOKIE Credit Union for many years. In 1991, Donnie and Bob returned to Oklahoma City and became founding members of St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church.

Family was one of the greatest joys of Donnie’s life. She cherished time spent together and was immensely proud of her children and grandchildren. Above all, she absolutely adored her great grandchildren.

Music was always an important part of Donnie’s life. As her children grew up, she made sure each had piano lessons and continued participating in band or choir. She remained deeply involved in her children’s activities, including PTA, Cub Scouts, Rainbow Girls, and numerous church programs. She also made sure her children had years of swim lessons—something especially important to her since she never learned to swim herself.

Donnie loved traveling with Bob, together visiting all 50 states and many destinations around the world. In their later years, they still enjoyed daily car rides around Oklahoma City, Moore, or Norman, savoring time together and the sunshine she loved so much.

Bob was the love of her life. In her 90s, Donnie wrote that they felt the same excitement about being together then as they had in their 20s.

In recent years, Donnie was especially grateful for her kind and caring neighbors and all they did for her. She was always in good spirits after spending time with her dear friend Sharon Bailey and her “visiting angel,” Dorothy Hurd.

Donnie is survived by her children, Teena Hollingshead of Oklahoma City, Jay R. Ball of Washington, D.C., and Chris Ball and wife Linda of Pryor, Oklahoma; her grandchildren, Eric Hollingshead of Yukon, Oklahoma, Carey Hollingshead of Oklahoma City, Julie Crawford and husband Brock of Owasso, Oklahoma, and Wesley Ball and wife Tessa of Pryor, Oklahoma; and her five cherished great grandchildren, Ryan, Lily, Rhett, Maxine, and Alice.

She was preceded in death by her husband, J. Robert “Bob” Ball, and her son in law, Mark Hollingshead.

Visitation will be held from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Monday, April 20, 2026, at Advantage Funeral Service, with family receiving friends from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

A service celebrating Donnie’s life will take place at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 21, 2026, at Advantage Funeral Service, 7720 S. Pennsylvania Avenue, Oklahoma City, followed by burial at Resthaven Memory Gardens.