James Melvin Ballard Sr.

Mr. James Melvin Ballard, Sr., 66, of 2485 Steele Rd. Cleveland, N.C., died January 2, 2011 at his home. Born in Iredell County on October 26, 1944, he was a son of the late Charles Gossett Ballard and Emma Barnett Ballard. He worked for 30 years at Burlington Mills in Mooresville and was a truck driver and a security guard at North Iredell High School for 13 years. He was a member of Crestview Baptist Church and the Scotch-Ireland Lodge # 154 A.F. & A.M. of Cleveland. He was preceded in death by two grandchildren, Shawn Michael Bell and John Dwayne Bell and two sisters, Matt Robinson and Linda Mae Brown. On June 29, 1963 he married the former Nancy Young who survives. Also surviving are a son, Pete Ballard and his wife, Paulette of Statesville and two daughters, Karen Bell and her husband (John/Nookie) of Statesville and Ginger Anderson and her husband, Dean of Mocksville. Also surviving are two brothers, Charles Douglas Ballard and Kenneth Eugene Ballard, both of Gastonia along with 7 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren.

Services celebrating James' life will be conducted at 2:00 P.M. Thursday at Crestview Baptist Church with Rev. Roy Pierce officiating. He will lie in state at the church for thirty minutes prior to the service and burial will follow at Iredell Memorial Gardens with full masonic rites. The family wil receive friends Wednesday evening from 7:00 until 9:00 P.M. at Bunch-Johnson Funeral home.

Condolences may be sent on line to the family to www.bunchjohnsonfuneralhome.com. Memorials may be given to Hospce & Palliative Care of Iredell County, Inc. 2347 Simonton Rd. Statesville, N.C. 28625. Bunch-Johnson Funeral Home is entrusted with the arrangements.

The family wishes to extend special thanks to Ashley Baker with Hospice of Iredell for her loving care and sacrifice.