Mary Frances Carter Ballew Tahlequah Daily Press
Tahlequah, Oklahoma
October 24, 2008Submitted by: Jo Aguirre
Mary Frances Carter Ballew left this earth Oct. 22, to fulfill her invitation to come and sing for her master to honor him with the gift he gave her that so many loved to hear. Her privilege now is to sing forever in his heavenly group.She was born in Park Hill on Dec. 4, 1927 to Jim and Maude (Hayes) Carter. Her siblings are Hattie and James Westfall, of Pryor, Henry and Nannie Carter, of Park Hill, both deceased, Donald and Juanita Carter, of Woodland, Calif., Dorothy Gross, of Inola, and Teresa and Robert Chatfield, of Ada.She was married to Jerry (Gerald) Ballew of Cookson. After Jerry's military obligation they traveled with his employment and eventually settled in Tulsa for several years. Along the way they found the time to have five children: Donna and Billy Garvin, of Broken Arrow, Gary Ballew, of Oklahoma City, Cathy and Russ Knowles, of Fort Gibson, Jamie Ballew and Dawn, of Keys, and David Ballew and Kim, of Broken Arrow. While in Tulsa she became a charter member of Sheridan Road Baptist Church where she made many lifelong friends she continued to keep even after her move back to the Cookson and Keys area. She later became an active real estate agent in Cherokee County and also was a tour guide for the Murrell Home in Park Hill.She leaves behind her grandchildren: Christin, Jeard, Dallas, Chad, Jake, Cassie, Savana, Lindsea, Drake, Whitney, Matthew and Madison; three great-grandchildren: Blayne, Peyton (Bubba), Kiara and a host of nieces and nephews.One of her legacies will always be, as one of her children stated, “She prayed us all back to Jesus.” She leaves five Christian children behind because of the example of her life. She was a member of the Park Hill Baptist Church.Arrangements are being handled by Hart Funeral home in Tahlequah. Services will be at the Park Hill Baptist Church at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 25. Interment will be at the Cookson Proctor Cemetery with a reception immediately following at the T.A.C.O building in Cookson. The family would like to give a special thanks to the staff at the Tahlequah hospital and Dr. Stanley Handshy for their wonderful care and help in making this transition as easy as possible.Hart Funeral Home, 1506 N. Grand, 456-8823.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]