Mr. Ball graduated from the University of Michigan in 1938.
Mr. Ball served in the Army in the South Pacific during World War II.
Neil Adelbert Ball married Helen Mae Roelofs on July 18, 1942.
Neil and Helen have seven children: Sally Jo Ball, Neil Alan Ball, Sherry Ann Ball Schollian, Jan-Dhu Ellen Ball McKinney, Roderick Adelbert Ball, William Erik Ball, and Patrick E. Ball.
They have many grandchildren and some great-grandchildren.
Obituary
Reporter earned the public’s trust with fairness, accuracy
The summer after his college graduation in the 1930s, journalist Neil Ball traveled to Central America to write a series of stories on the proposed route of the Pan-American Highway.
Mr. Ball’s newspaper career would include stints in Michigan and San Francisco before he settled in San Diego, where he covered South County issues, including the incorporation of Imperial Beach, in the 1950s and ’60s. He later reported on the North County and wrote columns on various topics, places and people.
Mr. Ball died of complications from a lung infection Sept. 6 at Scripps Green Hospital in La Jolla. He was 94.
Alan Ball said his father was the face of The San Diego Union for many readers in South County before the paper opened its Chula Vista bureau. “He worked off an old upright clackity-clack typewriter on a picnic table in his bedroom for many years,” Ball said. “He never mastered touch typing and did all of his work with the hunt-and-peck approach. He was very fast and very noisy.”
Gerry Reeves, a former editor for The Union, said Mr. Ball was very conscientious and worked hard to learn the communities he covered. “He was very well-liked by the people he covered,” Reeves said.
In a 1967 article in The Union, former Imperial Beach Mayor Miles Bowler praised Mr. Ball. “From the first, Neil was counted on as an accurate reporter who helped get things done in the South Bay area,” he said. Over the years, Mr. Ball received several resolutions honoring him, including one from the Imperial Beach City Council that stated: “Neil Ball has always been fair and accurate, though not always complimentary.”
Mr. Ball wrote the column “Around North County” for many years. Tidbits in the column included stories about local festivals, Eagle Scout projects, community news and Fritzie, a one-eyed bobtail cat in Julian.
Ball was born May 1, 1916, in Michigan to William Harry Ball and Edith Harris Ball. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1938 with a degree in journalism. He served in the Army in the South Pacific during World War II.
He and his wife, Helen, owned and operated a couple of small weekly papers in Michigan before moving to California in 1955. He worked briefly at the San Francisco Examiner before joining The Union.
He is survived by his children, Sallie Jo of Kentucky, Alan of San Diego, Sherry Ann Schollian of Colorado, Jan Dhu Ellen McKinney of Arizona, Roderick of Kentucky, William of Hawaii and Patrick of Kentucky; 14 grandchildren; two stepgrandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.
No services will be held.
Published in The San Diego Union-Tribune, San Diego, Callifornia, Internet Edition, September 13, 2010
Mr. Ball served in the Army in the South Pacific during World War II.
Neil Adelbert Ball married Helen Mae Roelofs on July 18, 1942.
Neil and Helen have seven children: Sally Jo Ball, Neil Alan Ball, Sherry Ann Ball Schollian, Jan-Dhu Ellen Ball McKinney, Roderick Adelbert Ball, William Erik Ball, and Patrick E. Ball.
They have many grandchildren and some great-grandchildren.
Obituary
Reporter earned the public’s trust with fairness, accuracy
The summer after his college graduation in the 1930s, journalist Neil Ball traveled to Central America to write a series of stories on the proposed route of the Pan-American Highway.
Mr. Ball’s newspaper career would include stints in Michigan and San Francisco before he settled in San Diego, where he covered South County issues, including the incorporation of Imperial Beach, in the 1950s and ’60s. He later reported on the North County and wrote columns on various topics, places and people.
Mr. Ball died of complications from a lung infection Sept. 6 at Scripps Green Hospital in La Jolla. He was 94.
Alan Ball said his father was the face of The San Diego Union for many readers in South County before the paper opened its Chula Vista bureau. “He worked off an old upright clackity-clack typewriter on a picnic table in his bedroom for many years,” Ball said. “He never mastered touch typing and did all of his work with the hunt-and-peck approach. He was very fast and very noisy.”
Gerry Reeves, a former editor for The Union, said Mr. Ball was very conscientious and worked hard to learn the communities he covered. “He was very well-liked by the people he covered,” Reeves said.
In a 1967 article in The Union, former Imperial Beach Mayor Miles Bowler praised Mr. Ball. “From the first, Neil was counted on as an accurate reporter who helped get things done in the South Bay area,” he said. Over the years, Mr. Ball received several resolutions honoring him, including one from the Imperial Beach City Council that stated: “Neil Ball has always been fair and accurate, though not always complimentary.”
Mr. Ball wrote the column “Around North County” for many years. Tidbits in the column included stories about local festivals, Eagle Scout projects, community news and Fritzie, a one-eyed bobtail cat in Julian.
Ball was born May 1, 1916, in Michigan to William Harry Ball and Edith Harris Ball. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1938 with a degree in journalism. He served in the Army in the South Pacific during World War II.
He and his wife, Helen, owned and operated a couple of small weekly papers in Michigan before moving to California in 1955. He worked briefly at the San Francisco Examiner before joining The Union.
He is survived by his children, Sallie Jo of Kentucky, Alan of San Diego, Sherry Ann Schollian of Colorado, Jan Dhu Ellen McKinney of Arizona, Roderick of Kentucky, William of Hawaii and Patrick of Kentucky; 14 grandchildren; two stepgrandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.
No services will be held.
Published in The San Diego Union-Tribune, San Diego, Callifornia, Internet Edition, September 13, 2010
Mr. Ball graduated from the University of Michigan in 1938.
Mr. Ball served in the Army in the South Pacific during World War II.
Neil Adelbert Ball married Helen Mae Roelofs on July 18, 1942.
Neil and Helen have seven children: Sally Jo Ball, Neil Alan Ball, Sherry Ann Ball Schollian, Jan-Dhu Ellen Ball McKinney, Roderick Adelbert Ball, William Erik Ball, and Patrick E. Ball.
They have many grandchildren and some great-grandchildren.
Obituary
Reporter earned the public’s trust with fairness, accuracy
The summer after his college graduation in the 1930s, journalist Neil Ball traveled to Central America to write a series of stories on the proposed route of the Pan-American Highway.
Mr. Ball’s newspaper career would include stints in Michigan and San Francisco before he settled in San Diego, where he covered South County issues, including the incorporation of Imperial Beach, in the 1950s and ’60s. He later reported on the North County and wrote columns on various topics, places and people.
Mr. Ball died of complications from a lung infection Sept. 6 at Scripps Green Hospital in La Jolla. He was 94.
Alan Ball said his father was the face of The San Diego Union for many readers in South County before the paper opened its Chula Vista bureau. “He worked off an old upright clackity-clack typewriter on a picnic table in his bedroom for many years,” Ball said. “He never mastered touch typing and did all of his work with the hunt-and-peck approach. He was very fast and very noisy.”
Gerry Reeves, a former editor for The Union, said Mr. Ball was very conscientious and worked hard to learn the communities he covered. “He was very well-liked by the people he covered,” Reeves said.
In a 1967 article in The Union, former Imperial Beach Mayor Miles Bowler praised Mr. Ball. “From the first, Neil was counted on as an accurate reporter who helped get things done in the South Bay area,” he said. Over the years, Mr. Ball received several resolutions honoring him, including one from the Imperial Beach City Council that stated: “Neil Ball has always been fair and accurate, though not always complimentary.”
Mr. Ball wrote the column “Around North County” for many years. Tidbits in the column included stories about local festivals, Eagle Scout projects, community news and Fritzie, a one-eyed bobtail cat in Julian.
Ball was born May 1, 1916, in Michigan to William Harry Ball and Edith Harris Ball. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1938 with a degree in journalism. He served in the Army in the South Pacific during World War II.
He and his wife, Helen, owned and operated a couple of small weekly papers in Michigan before moving to California in 1955. He worked briefly at the San Francisco Examiner before joining The Union.
He is survived by his children, Sallie Jo of Kentucky, Alan of San Diego, Sherry Ann Schollian of Colorado, Jan Dhu Ellen McKinney of Arizona, Roderick of Kentucky, William of Hawaii and Patrick of Kentucky; 14 grandchildren; two stepgrandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.
No services will be held.
Published in The San Diego Union-Tribune, San Diego, Callifornia, Internet Edition, September 13, 2010
Mr. Ball served in the Army in the South Pacific during World War II.
Neil Adelbert Ball married Helen Mae Roelofs on July 18, 1942.
Neil and Helen have seven children: Sally Jo Ball, Neil Alan Ball, Sherry Ann Ball Schollian, Jan-Dhu Ellen Ball McKinney, Roderick Adelbert Ball, William Erik Ball, and Patrick E. Ball.
They have many grandchildren and some great-grandchildren.
Obituary
Reporter earned the public’s trust with fairness, accuracy
The summer after his college graduation in the 1930s, journalist Neil Ball traveled to Central America to write a series of stories on the proposed route of the Pan-American Highway.
Mr. Ball’s newspaper career would include stints in Michigan and San Francisco before he settled in San Diego, where he covered South County issues, including the incorporation of Imperial Beach, in the 1950s and ’60s. He later reported on the North County and wrote columns on various topics, places and people.
Mr. Ball died of complications from a lung infection Sept. 6 at Scripps Green Hospital in La Jolla. He was 94.
Alan Ball said his father was the face of The San Diego Union for many readers in South County before the paper opened its Chula Vista bureau. “He worked off an old upright clackity-clack typewriter on a picnic table in his bedroom for many years,” Ball said. “He never mastered touch typing and did all of his work with the hunt-and-peck approach. He was very fast and very noisy.”
Gerry Reeves, a former editor for The Union, said Mr. Ball was very conscientious and worked hard to learn the communities he covered. “He was very well-liked by the people he covered,” Reeves said.
In a 1967 article in The Union, former Imperial Beach Mayor Miles Bowler praised Mr. Ball. “From the first, Neil was counted on as an accurate reporter who helped get things done in the South Bay area,” he said. Over the years, Mr. Ball received several resolutions honoring him, including one from the Imperial Beach City Council that stated: “Neil Ball has always been fair and accurate, though not always complimentary.”
Mr. Ball wrote the column “Around North County” for many years. Tidbits in the column included stories about local festivals, Eagle Scout projects, community news and Fritzie, a one-eyed bobtail cat in Julian.
Ball was born May 1, 1916, in Michigan to William Harry Ball and Edith Harris Ball. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1938 with a degree in journalism. He served in the Army in the South Pacific during World War II.
He and his wife, Helen, owned and operated a couple of small weekly papers in Michigan before moving to California in 1955. He worked briefly at the San Francisco Examiner before joining The Union.
He is survived by his children, Sallie Jo of Kentucky, Alan of San Diego, Sherry Ann Schollian of Colorado, Jan Dhu Ellen McKinney of Arizona, Roderick of Kentucky, William of Hawaii and Patrick of Kentucky; 14 grandchildren; two stepgrandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.
No services will be held.
Published in The San Diego Union-Tribune, San Diego, Callifornia, Internet Edition, September 13, 2010
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