JAMES ELIHU "JIM" BALL, JR.
James Elihu “Jim” Ball, Jr
BIRTH 11 Dec 1925
Redmesa, La Plata County, Colorado, USA
DEATH 18 Apr 2019 (aged 93)
Grand Junction, Mesa County, Colorado, USA
PUBLISHED April 24, 2019, in Delta , Colorado, High Country Shopper:
James (Jim) E. Ball Obituary
James Elihu Ball, Jr. was born and raised in Red Mesa, CO, in La Plata County.
He had an interesting childhood: he was raised during the Great Depression, and therefore had to scratch his way through life. He worked illegally at Camp Bird Mine in Ouray at the age of 13 and 14, and he was fired for being under age both years. He used the money he earned to pay for his schooling back at home. When he was 15, fearing being tracked down by the Law, he joined the Barnum & Bailey circus with a friend, and he became a clown that played the bugle. He later attempted to join a couple of musical bands in California after getting off of the circus train. They denied him and he lived in a shed while playing the piano for evening meals in a local restaurant on Catalina Island. He later found out that he was not wanted in Colorado, so at age 15 he returned to school, and the mines. Due to the start of WWII the mines ‘looked the other way’ and allowed him to work a full summer.
At age 17 Jim joined the Marines and he signed up to be a bugler in the Marine Band, but after several weeks he was shipped out to the Pacific theater as a sharp-shooter. His transport ship was hit by a kamikaze, and Jim later fought in several well-known battles; like Tarawa, Peleliu, & Iwo Jima.
After the war he smuggled cigarettes to Hong Kong, where he picked up Russian refugees to smuggle back to California.
Jim later earned a Master’s degree at Denver University, and he became a consultant for corporations, and he also wrote plays and music.
He survived a plane crash in Ohio that killed many people, which earned him two years of rehab in Houston, Texas.
He later opened a small bakery in Cascade, CO, making his famous sourdough bread. While there he was robbed at gunpoint, in which the thief shot off Jim’s finger and murdered the store-owner next door. Jim never played the piano again, but he continued to write music and he forever enjoyed listening to the Big Bands. Now Jim is reunited with his beloved Father, and his finger.
In 1947 he met and married, Ellenora Suzanne, who passed away in 1970.
He is survived by his son Tommy Spangler of Cincinnati, OH, and his daughter Noell Walton, of London, England.
Services will be Monday, April 29th, at 10 am, at Taylor’s Mortuary Chapel. The memorial will be conducted by Pastor Jason Neely of River’s Church.
James Elihu “Jim” Ball, Jr
BIRTH 11 Dec 1925
Redmesa, La Plata County, Colorado, USA
DEATH 18 Apr 2019 (aged 93)
Grand Junction, Mesa County, Colorado, USA
PUBLISHED April 24, 2019, in Delta , Colorado, High Country Shopper:
James (Jim) E. Ball Obituary
James Elihu Ball, Jr. was born and raised in Red Mesa, CO, in La Plata County.
He had an interesting childhood: he was raised during the Great Depression, and therefore had to scratch his way through life. He worked illegally at Camp Bird Mine in Ouray at the age of 13 and 14, and he was fired for being under age both years. He used the money he earned to pay for his schooling back at home. When he was 15, fearing being tracked down by the Law, he joined the Barnum & Bailey circus with a friend, and he became a clown that played the bugle. He later attempted to join a couple of musical bands in California after getting off of the circus train. They denied him and he lived in a shed while playing the piano for evening meals in a local restaurant on Catalina Island. He later found out that he was not wanted in Colorado, so at age 15 he returned to school, and the mines. Due to the start of WWII the mines ‘looked the other way’ and allowed him to work a full summer.
At age 17 Jim joined the Marines and he signed up to be a bugler in the Marine Band, but after several weeks he was shipped out to the Pacific theater as a sharp-shooter. His transport ship was hit by a kamikaze, and Jim later fought in several well-known battles; like Tarawa, Peleliu, & Iwo Jima.
After the war he smuggled cigarettes to Hong Kong, where he picked up Russian refugees to smuggle back to California.
Jim later earned a Master’s degree at Denver University, and he became a consultant for corporations, and he also wrote plays and music.
He survived a plane crash in Ohio that killed many people, which earned him two years of rehab in Houston, Texas.
He later opened a small bakery in Cascade, CO, making his famous sourdough bread. While there he was robbed at gunpoint, in which the thief shot off Jim’s finger and murdered the store-owner next door. Jim never played the piano again, but he continued to write music and he forever enjoyed listening to the Big Bands. Now Jim is reunited with his beloved Father, and his finger.
In 1947 he met and married, Ellenora Suzanne, who passed away in 1970.
He is survived by his son Tommy Spangler of Cincinnati, OH, and his daughter Noell Walton, of London, England.
Services will be Monday, April 29th, at 10 am, at Taylor’s Mortuary Chapel. The memorial will be conducted by Pastor Jason Neely of River’s Church.
JAMES ELIHU "JIM" BALL, JR.
James Elihu “Jim” Ball, Jr
BIRTH 11 Dec 1925
Redmesa, La Plata County, Colorado, USA
DEATH 18 Apr 2019 (aged 93)
Grand Junction, Mesa County, Colorado, USA
PUBLISHED April 24, 2019, in Delta , Colorado, High Country Shopper:
James (Jim) E. Ball Obituary
James Elihu Ball, Jr. was born and raised in Red Mesa, CO, in La Plata County.
He had an interesting childhood: he was raised during the Great Depression, and therefore had to scratch his way through life. He worked illegally at Camp Bird Mine in Ouray at the age of 13 and 14, and he was fired for being under age both years. He used the money he earned to pay for his schooling back at home. When he was 15, fearing being tracked down by the Law, he joined the Barnum & Bailey circus with a friend, and he became a clown that played the bugle. He later attempted to join a couple of musical bands in California after getting off of the circus train. They denied him and he lived in a shed while playing the piano for evening meals in a local restaurant on Catalina Island. He later found out that he was not wanted in Colorado, so at age 15 he returned to school, and the mines. Due to the start of WWII the mines ‘looked the other way’ and allowed him to work a full summer.
At age 17 Jim joined the Marines and he signed up to be a bugler in the Marine Band, but after several weeks he was shipped out to the Pacific theater as a sharp-shooter. His transport ship was hit by a kamikaze, and Jim later fought in several well-known battles; like Tarawa, Peleliu, & Iwo Jima.
After the war he smuggled cigarettes to Hong Kong, where he picked up Russian refugees to smuggle back to California.
Jim later earned a Master’s degree at Denver University, and he became a consultant for corporations, and he also wrote plays and music.
He survived a plane crash in Ohio that killed many people, which earned him two years of rehab in Houston, Texas.
He later opened a small bakery in Cascade, CO, making his famous sourdough bread. While there he was robbed at gunpoint, in which the thief shot off Jim’s finger and murdered the store-owner next door. Jim never played the piano again, but he continued to write music and he forever enjoyed listening to the Big Bands. Now Jim is reunited with his beloved Father, and his finger.
In 1947 he met and married, Ellenora Suzanne, who passed away in 1970.
He is survived by his son Tommy Spangler of Cincinnati, OH, and his daughter Noell Walton, of London, England.
Services will be Monday, April 29th, at 10 am, at Taylor’s Mortuary Chapel. The memorial will be conducted by Pastor Jason Neely of River’s Church.
James Elihu “Jim” Ball, Jr
BIRTH 11 Dec 1925
Redmesa, La Plata County, Colorado, USA
DEATH 18 Apr 2019 (aged 93)
Grand Junction, Mesa County, Colorado, USA
PUBLISHED April 24, 2019, in Delta , Colorado, High Country Shopper:
James (Jim) E. Ball Obituary
James Elihu Ball, Jr. was born and raised in Red Mesa, CO, in La Plata County.
He had an interesting childhood: he was raised during the Great Depression, and therefore had to scratch his way through life. He worked illegally at Camp Bird Mine in Ouray at the age of 13 and 14, and he was fired for being under age both years. He used the money he earned to pay for his schooling back at home. When he was 15, fearing being tracked down by the Law, he joined the Barnum & Bailey circus with a friend, and he became a clown that played the bugle. He later attempted to join a couple of musical bands in California after getting off of the circus train. They denied him and he lived in a shed while playing the piano for evening meals in a local restaurant on Catalina Island. He later found out that he was not wanted in Colorado, so at age 15 he returned to school, and the mines. Due to the start of WWII the mines ‘looked the other way’ and allowed him to work a full summer.
At age 17 Jim joined the Marines and he signed up to be a bugler in the Marine Band, but after several weeks he was shipped out to the Pacific theater as a sharp-shooter. His transport ship was hit by a kamikaze, and Jim later fought in several well-known battles; like Tarawa, Peleliu, & Iwo Jima.
After the war he smuggled cigarettes to Hong Kong, where he picked up Russian refugees to smuggle back to California.
Jim later earned a Master’s degree at Denver University, and he became a consultant for corporations, and he also wrote plays and music.
He survived a plane crash in Ohio that killed many people, which earned him two years of rehab in Houston, Texas.
He later opened a small bakery in Cascade, CO, making his famous sourdough bread. While there he was robbed at gunpoint, in which the thief shot off Jim’s finger and murdered the store-owner next door. Jim never played the piano again, but he continued to write music and he forever enjoyed listening to the Big Bands. Now Jim is reunited with his beloved Father, and his finger.
In 1947 he met and married, Ellenora Suzanne, who passed away in 1970.
He is survived by his son Tommy Spangler of Cincinnati, OH, and his daughter Noell Walton, of London, England.
Services will be Monday, April 29th, at 10 am, at Taylor’s Mortuary Chapel. The memorial will be conducted by Pastor Jason Neely of River’s Church.
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