Published in Gaston Gazette on Mar. 16, 2019

The following is an article published in the Gaston Gazette on May May 5th by Michael McMahan about our classmate, Ken Ballard.  

5/5/2019

Ken Ballard

When we moved to Gastonia, our children were in the third and eighth grades at Sherwood Elementary and Grier Junior High School, good public schools led by excellent principals and populated with outstanding teachers. We were pleased to be fitting into our new community and living on Woodland Drive in a rambling house built in the early 1950s.

Our next-door neighbors on one side were Kenneth and Betty Ballard. Kenneth drove a Sunshine Linen truck which was parked in his driveway when he wasn’t out delivering linens. I remember hearing that big engine barking and sparking as Kenneth was up and gone at zero dark thirty every morning. He was back home like clockwork at the end of highly-structured days.

My life, on the other hand, was complicated. I was a fast-rising stock broker working in the tallest building in Charlotte. I had a windowless office the size of a broom closet and a telephone. I was expected to call people with money and convince them that triple tax-free municipal bonds paying 12 percent or more were better than taxable accounts that paid less. It was like shooting fish in a barrel and soon I was the top broker in the branch.

When I pulled into the driveway after a day filled with selling millions of dollars’ worth of municipal bonds, there was Kenneth’s truck. Occasionally he would see me over the low brick fence that separated our lawns. He would smile and speak as I walked to the fence in my suit and tie and shinny shoes. The first time I told him what I did, he said, “Gollee, that sounds important. You have to be smart to do something like that.” His sincerity and interest in my family and me were a refreshing respite after a day talking to very wealthy people who sometimes treated others, including mere bond salesmen like me with casual disdain.

One memorable day in October 1987, the taxi that Carla and I had taken from the airport in Charlotte pulled into our drive. The stock market had crashed while we were away on a long trip to China. I tried to put that out of my mind as 14-year-old David ran down the driveway like a galloping newborn pony. Shunning his awkward teenage façade, he nearly lifted his mother off her feet as he hugged her with a big smile on his face. It was clear we had been away too long.

As I walked toward the house with the luggage, there was Kenneth. “”Here, let me help,” he said as he stepped through the gate in the brick fence. “What was it like in China?” he asked. “Crowded and dirty and a little scary,” I said. This was just one year and six months before the Tiananmen Square protests turned into a bloodbath for thousands of demonstrators.

Early the next morning the linen truck cranked and belched smoke and rattled down Kenneth’s driveway. My life was back to normal.

Eventually we moved to a new neighborhood out near the Country Club, then to an even nicer neighborhood with tree-lined streets. Our current neighbors are doctors, lawyers, business owners and the like. In fact, we now live beside the family that owns the Sunshine Linen Company, all good people and friends.

After Kenneth retired, he spent years in faithful service to his church and community. He led the men’s group at Bradley Memorial Methodist Church and was active in the Evening Optimist. I ran into him not long ago at a luncheon. It was an event thanking people who worked in a homeless ministry called Family Promise. Kenneth was one of those workers. He was surprised to see me in an apron.

“Did you cook?” he asked with a big laugh.

“No,” I said. “I’m unskilled labor.”

“What does that mean?” he said with that big grin.

“I’m the dish washer,” I replied.

The pastor preached on humility. I remember the text of his message: The greatest among you shall be your servant. (Matthew 23:11) As the pastor spoke, I thumbed to another passage of scripture that says, Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in humility that comes from wisdom. (James 3:13) I pulled my pen from beneath my apron and wrote in the margin beside that verse, ‘Kenneth Ballard’.

Former Wyoming Senator Alan Simpson was recently an honored speaker at his best friend’s funeral. As he spoke about President George H. W. Bush, he said that what he would always remember about his friend was his humble spirit. He added that few people in Washington, D.C. travel the lonely highway of humility.

Kenneth Ballard died last month at the age of 74. The life Kenneth lived inspires me every day to devote more of myself in humble service of others.

I pray that someday I will cross the high bar of humility that Kenneth set, and like President Bush, my best friends will remember me not for great accomplishments and honors, but for simple acts of kindness, generosity and humility.

The pastor preached on humility. I remember the text of his message: The greatest among you shall be your servant. (Matthew 23:11) As the pastor spoke, I thumbed to another passage of Scripture that says, Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in humility that comes from wisdom. ( James 3:13) I pulled my pen from beneath my apron and wrote in the margin beside that verse, ‘Kenneth Ballard’.