Lorraine Ballance

1922 - 2010

Longtime Ventura resident Lorraine Ballance passed away peacefully in her sleep, at home, early on Thanksgiving morning, Nov. 25, 2010. She had a long and eventful life, and will be missed by her family and many friends.

Born April 12, 1922 in Bethel, Mo., Lorraine was the only child of William H. and Bessie Fox. She had fond memories of her early years in Bethel, where her grandparents owned and operated a general store. When the depression set in, Lorraine and her parents moved to Washington, D.C., where her parents were able to find work. During her girlhood in Washington she lived on a street with six other girls her age, and for the rest of their lives, they all remained lifelong friends.

With Lorraine's passing all but one of these friends for life are now gone. Lorraine married Lieutenant Chester F. Lowe in 1939, and their son, Christopher R. Lowe, was born in 1943. Sadly, Lieutenant Lowe was killed in 1945 at the end of WW II. For the next several years, Lorraine lived with the Lowe family, moving from Denver to New Orleans to Lawerence, Kan., where she attended The University of Kansas for two years.

In 1948, she married Richard L. Ballance, and their daughter Karen was born in 1949, followed by a son, Kurtis, in 1950. Richard and Lorraine and the three children moved to Ventura in 1955. Lorraine and Richard divorced in the early 1960s, but Lorraine and her children remained in Ventura. She went back to school at Ventura College, and then went to Cal State Northridge, where she finished up her education and obtained her teaching credential in 1964. She taught for one year at El Camino Elementary School in Ventura, and the following year she transferred to Saticoy School, where she taught third grade for the next 18 years. While teaching in Saticoy she made many friends who were very important to her for the rest of her life. After retiring in 1982, Lorraine enjoyed traveling, going to plays and musicals with friends, playing bridge with various groups, bowling, some volunteer work, and many other activities. She also kept in touch with and frequently visited friends and relatives in many parts of America.

Lorraine's health began declining in 2005, starting with a broken hip, but she continued many of her activities for the next several years, and still enjoyed a wonderful quality of life. She had been suffering from congestive heart failure for several years, and in the fall of 2010, her condition declined rapidly. Right up until the end of her life, she was still enjoying visits from friends, enjoying an occasional outing, reading her newspapers, and remembering old friends and days gone by. She still had many friends who cared about her, and they, along with her family, will have many fond memories of her.

Anyone wishing to honor her memory should make a donation to either Friends of the Ventura County Library, or the Ventura Chapter of Mended Hearts, two organizations she believed in and was involved with right up until the end of her life.