Lt. Col. James Arthur Ball Jr.

Lt. Col. James Arthur Ball, Jr.

Proud Retired Army Veteran -

Lt. Col. James Arthur Ball, Jr. (J.A. to his family and JJ to his grandkids), age 88, of Mechanicsburg, PA, and formerly of Bonita Springs, FL, passed away peacefully on Thursday, March 4, 2021 at Arden Courts Assisted Living Facility in Harrisburg, PA.  James was born on Monday, May 9, 1932 in Loretto, KY, home of the Maker’s Mark Bourbon distillery, one of seven boys to the late James Arthur Ball and Christine (Nelson) Ball.  In addition to his parents, James is preceded in death by his grandson, Michael Trendler; and his four brothers: Nelson, Donald, Garland, and David Ball.

James’s survivors include his loving wife of 61 years, Frances Marian (Bland) Ball; his three children: James Arthur Ball, III of Mechanicsburg, Walter Alan Ball and wife, Carrie, of Mechanicsburg, Susan B. Trendler and husband, Joseph, Jr., of Chester Springs; his six grandchildren: Philip Trendler, Morgan Trendler, Lauren Ball, Madison Ball, Connor Ball, Kiersten Ball; his two great-grandchildren: Hailey Aldred, Mason Aldred; his two brothers: Rudy Ball and wife, Betty Jane, Bernard Ball; and several nieces and nephews.

All the Ball brothers hunted and fished on the family’s Horseshoe Bends Farms, enjoyed family reunions at the family cabin, and J.A. worked in the family businesses when he could, including the BelleVista Drive-in Theatre and the Ball Brothers Oil Company.  James infamously got knocked off a wildcat oil rig as a young adult taking it not on the chin but on the nose.  James went to elementary school at St. Francis, High School at St. Joes Prep in Bardstown, KY, attended Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama, and graduated from Dayton University in Dayton, Ohio where he was in the ARMY ROTC and played on the varsity tennis team.  Upon graduation James became an Army officer, retiring after over 20 years of service as a Lt. Colonel.  During his career James was stationed in Germany, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Kansas, Ft. Eustis, VA, New Cumberland, PA, and twice served in Korea, and did tour two tours of duty in Vietnam.  After retiring from the Army, James served as Vice President at CACI, International in Mechanicsburg, PA.  James continued to play tennis very competitively throughout his life, until he picked up golf in his later years.  He spent much of his retirement time at his home in Bonita Springs, Florida.

Family and friends are invited to join James’s family remotely via web streaming on Tuesday, March 16, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. for his Mass of Christian Burial.  Private burial with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA will be at a later date.

Contributions in celebration of James’s life can be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, 225 N. Michigan Avenue, Fl. 17, Chicago, IL 60601, www.alz.org/donate or The Church of the Good Shepherd, 3435 Trindle Road, Camp Hill, PA 17011, www.goodshepherd-parish.weshareonline.org/.

James’s family has entrusted his care to Buhrig Funeral Home and Crematory in Mechanicsburg, (717) 766-3421.  Read James’s full obituary, and sign his official guest book at Buhrig.com.
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Virtual Streaming

Family and friends are welcome to join James's family via live streaming on Tuesday, March 16, 2021, beginning at approximately 11:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Join from PC, Mac, iOS or Android: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmk-1gzTinS_dKGGf-6cytg/featured

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