John M. Ballbach Sr., 75, of Gresham, passed away unexpectedly on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2015, from injuries sustained in a car accident. John was born on Jan. 12, 1940, in Port Washington, the son of the late George and Mildred (Reiter) Ballbach.
On Nov. 3, 1961, John and Rae C. George took a 1957 Corvette to Iowa and were united in marriage. Together they raised seven children. In 1989, John and Rae moved to the Shawano area. John was a very outgoing person who loved to talk and was known to many as “Farmer John the Bee Man.”
He was a member of St. Peter’s UCC in Saukville, enjoyed cutting firewood and fishing, but calling John a hard worker is an understatement. The only thing he liked better than working was talking. He was a wonderful husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend and will be deeply missed by all who knew him.
John is survived by his wife of 53 years, Rae; seven children, Linda (Bruno Sr.) Primas, Fred (Mariann) Ballbach, Robin Ballbach, James Ballbach, John (Lorraine) Ballbach Jr., George Ballbach and Jeff Ballbach; 15 grandchildren, Bruno (Janet) Primas Jr., Rae Ann Ballbach, William Ballbach, Paul Ballbach, Ian Larsen, Victor Larsen, Alia Larsen, Erin Ballbach, Dan Ballbach, Jessica (Ryan) Walvoord, Marissa (Scott) Cowling, Zachary Carr Ballbach, Jennifer Ballbach, Amanda Ballbach, Devin Gerk; and numerous great-grandchildren. He is further survived by his brothers and sisters, William Ballbach, Michael Ballbach, Eugene Ballbach, Louise Sherf, Lenora Ebert, Ann Murawski, Georgene Wulff and Sherry Ballbach, as well as numerous nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.
John was preceded in death by his parents.
A funeral service to honor John’s life will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 24, 2015, at the Swedberg Funeral Home in Shawano with the Rev. Melinda Shriner officiating. Visitation will be at the funeral home on Saturday from 11 a.m. until the time of the service.
www.swedbergfuneralhome.com
Categories
