Ray Ball Obituary, Death Cause – After a protracted and unsuccessful struggle against cancer, Ray Ball, age 71, from St. Joseph, Missouri, passed away on March 15, 2022. Ray was a native of Fairfax, Missouri, and he received his high school diploma from Fairfax in the year 1968. In addition, he graduated from Northwest Missouri State University with a Bachelor of Science degree.
He also took great delight in talking about the athletic and intellectual achievements of his three grandsons and enjoyed being active in the sporting activities of his sons while they were attending school in Warrensburg. He had two boys and a daughter. Ray’s health had been declining in recent years, so in May of 2019, he moved to St. Joseph, Missouri, to be closer to his sister and nephew, who were taking care of him there.
In October of 1978, Ray was promoted to the position of Assistant Vice President at the First Midwest Bank in Maryville, Missouri, where he had been living for the previous few years. In 1987, he relocated his family to Warrensburg, Missouri, where he obtained employment first with the FDIC and then with Carlyle Van Lines.
Ray’s passion for sports extended well beyond his job life; he had followed the St. Louis Cardinals and the Missouri Tigers throughout his whole life.
His mother Marion and his mother’s mother Phyllis both passed away before Ray. Ray is survived by his sons, Matthew (Erin)Ball of Auburn, Alabama, and Patrick Ball of Independence, Missouri; his grandsons, Camden Ball, Braden Ball, and Cason Ball of Auburn, Alabama; his brother, Steve (Sheryl) Ball of Urbandale, Iowa; his sister, Jane Hughes of St. Joseph; one niece and numerous nephews, great nieces, and great nephews; and one great-great niece and great-great nephew.
After receiving his degree in education from Northwest Missouri State University, he began working as a teacher at Nodaway Holt High School, where he also served as the head basketball coach for the Nodaway-Holt Trojanettes for a period of four years. In 1976, Ray decided to pursue a career in finance rather than continuing his teaching profession. After getting his degree in finance, he got a job as a state bank examiner in the Brookfield, Missouri district for the Missouri Division of Finance.