Bishop David S. Ball

After a life of loving service, the Right Reverend David Standish Ball, retired Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Albany, passed away on April 18, 2017. For over six decades, Bishop Ball served the diocese, the City of Albany, and the region as a tireless and joyful leader. Born in Albany in 1926, to his beloved parents, Hazelton V. and Percival L. Ball, Bishop Ball grew up in Menands with his parents and three brothers, Robert, George and Peter. Just steps from his home in Menands, at St. Margaret's Episcopal Church, Bishop Ball first served as an altar boy. He learned to ski on the hills behind his home, played hockey on nearby ponds, and spent summers working at local farms, milking cows and picking fresh corn and tomatoes. At the Milne School in Albany, his prowess as a baseball and basketball player earned him plaudits, and his peers recognized his capacity to lead, electing him their class president. Bishop Ball began his ordained ministry in 1953, after a two-year stint in the United States Navy, and his graduation from Colgate University and General Theological Seminary. He served parishes in Glens Falls and Saratoga Springs until 1956, when he was appointed Canon Sacrist at the Cathedral of All Saints. He held posts at the Cathedral for the next 28 years, including 24 years as Dean of the Cathedral. A kind, generous mentor, Bishop Ball welcomed countless people to the congregation with his warm smile and infectious sense of humor, providing wise and compassionate counsel as he ministered to generations of congregants in times of both sorrow and happiness.  Tireless in his efforts, he sought to preserve the Cathedral as a beacon of love for the people of the neighborhood, the city, and the diocese. Elected Bishop Coadjutor of the Diocese of Albany in 1983, and subsequently installed as Diocesan Bishop in 1984, Bishop Ball spent 14 years extending his ministry from the Pennsylvania border to the Adirondacks. He treasured the precious hours he shared in each of the parishes, large and small, scattered across the diocese to which he dedicated his life. After his retirement as Diocesan Bishop in 1998, he served as Bishop-in-Residence at the Cathedral, a place that always held a special place in his heart. The devotion that characterized Bishop Ball's work in the church animated his service to the Albany community, too. A leader in a myriad of ways, he advanced ecumenical understanding in the city, served on the boards of The Childs Hospital and Doane-Stuart School for decades, led the Dudley Park Housing Development Committee, in its effort to provide affordable housing in the Arbor Hill neighborhood, and served on the Albany Inter-Racial Council, including a three-year stint as its president. As a leader in the state, he served on New York's Task Force on Life and the Law for 12 years. His affection for the outdoors and his love of family never waned.  For over 70 years, Bishop Ball spent time each summer at Lake George, where those great joys often converged. No matter the day's activity — whether he was out on a boat, engrossed in a book, playing a friendly game of croquet, or swimming in the clear water — he found inspiration in the lake's beauty, reading prayers as the sun rose and set, relishing family dinners, full of the fresh vegetables reminiscent of his youth. Bishop Ball is survived by his sisters-in-law, Elizabeth Ball, Joyce Ball and Dorothy Ball; his nephews, Barent Ball and his wife, Carol, Robert P. Ball and David B. Ball; his niece, Jennifer Wagar and her husband, Mark; and countless devoted friends, including from the Cathedral, the diocese, and the Loudonville Assisted Living Residence, where he lived for four years. The Burial service with Holy Eucharist for Bishop Ball will be at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 29, at the Cathedral of All Saints, on the corner of South Swan Street and Elk Street, in the City of Albany. Parking is available in the state employee parking lot on Elk Street. The doors of the Cathedral will open at 9:45 a.m. The public is encouraged to arrive and be seated by 10:30 a.m. Interment will follow in the Bishop's family plot at Albany Rural Cemetery, Menands. The Bishop's body will lie in state in the Cathedral on Friday, April 28, and the Cathedral will be open for calling hours from 3 to 6 p.m. and from 7 to 9 p.m. A reception, in honor of Bishop Ball, will be held after the interment at a time and location to be announced. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Cathedral of All Saints, designated for the Bishop Ball Endowment for Missions, 62 South Swan Street, Albany, NY 12210. Arrangements have been entrusted to the Tebbutt Funeral Home, 633 Central Ave., Albany. To express condolences and for more information, please visit www.sbfuneralhome.com.