Roosevelt Ballard

Roosevelt ""Tony"" Ballard, 76, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Monday, Jan. 23, 2012 at the Hospice of Arizona ? Greenfield House in Mesa, Ariz. following a long illness.

Mr. Ballard was born Sept. 29, 1935, in Wardell, Mo. He grew up in Neelyville, Mo., and graduated from Wheatley High School in Poplar Bluff.
Mr. Ballard was a veteran of the U.S. Navy as well as the U.S. Army. He retired in 2000 as a refrigeration engineer on U.S. Navy Ships Mr. Ballard was a member of Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church in Poplar Bluff.

On Dec. 11, 1976, he married Freda Raney in Poplar Bluff. She survives.

Other survivors include a daughter, Denise Ballard of Seattle, Wash.; 4 stepchildren: Joyce McDonald and Hurley Raney both of Poplar Bluff, Margaret Moss of Little Rock, Ark. and Henry Raney of Fairview Heights, Ill.; 16 step grandchildren; 26 step great-grandchildren; and 3 step great-great-grandchildren.

His parents, Noah and Alberta (Johnson) Ballard and a sister, Mary Richey preceded Mr. Ballard in death.

A gathering of family and friends will begin at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 22th at Cotrell Funeral Chapel in Poplar Bluff. A Celebration of Life will follow at 11 a.m. in the Funeral Chapel with Pastor William Harrold officiating. Interment with full military honors will be at the Neelyville Cemetery in Neelyville, Mo.