Carma Payne Ballingham was born April 14, 1925 in Ogden, Weber, Utah the second of three daughters, to Olive Drury and John J. Payne. She was reared and educated in Ogden, was a graduate of Ogden High School and worked for the railroad and later for the IRS.
On June 2, 1945 she was married to James Wendell Ballingam. They had six children, but tragically two young daughters died from cancer. This was hard on Carma and as a result, it was very important to her to be home providing security, always a hot meal at dinner and every night a "family night". She dedicated her life to teaching her children the values of love, hard work and integrity.
She was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints 58th Ward and enjoyed the gospel teachings. After having lost two daughters to cancer and being a cancer survivor twice herself, she volunteered as chairman for the American Cancer Society and served this cause for many years.
She loved music and was an accomplished pianist. She had an incredible voice and sang and danced during her teenage years and later performed professionally. Music was often played in her home. Carma's greatest enjoyment came from playing golf and she played all over the intermountain area in tournaments and club events. As an accomplished athlete, she could drive off the tee further than most men and was very proud of her three "holes-in-one". She was a member of Patio Springs Country Club and the Ogden Golf and Country Club.
She also enjoyed watching her children participate in all their activities. She adored her grandchildren and bragged she had the most beautiful grandchildren in the world.
Carma was an avid Weber State Wildcats, Utah Jazz and BYU fan, hardly ever missing a game either in person, on TV or radio. She passed away at the age of 84.