Mary Hester Ball

Mary Hester Tate Ball passed away peacefully on Oct. 29, 2026. She is survived by her son Steven Lee Ball and daughter-in-law Emma Isabel Ball, in addition to grandsons Alexander and Darby and granddaughter Maryann. She is also survived by two siblings: Paul Tate and Betty Arnold. Mary Hesther Tate was born on September 4, 1936, to her parents Jeff and Bessie Tate in Rayville, Missouri. She was the firstborn of seven children, followed by Roberta, Kay, Paul, Bonnie, Danny and Betty. Her father had many different jobs during the depression years, from coal mining, work on a Lake Mead water project, a brief stint at a wire production plant, to milk delivery prior to the outbreak of World War II. The family settled in New Garden, Missouri, a farming community north of Kansas City. Mary worked at jobs from an early age, including setting up a line-type printer for a newspaper. During the summer of 1952, she went to work in Kansas City as a waitress at a diner to help the family financially. Mary graduated valedictorian of her high school class of 1955 at Lawson, Missouri. She then moved to Kansas City. While working days, she attended a business school in the evenings, riding city buses. After falling asleep late one night on the bus and missing her stop, she ran all the way back to her apartment, then decided it was time to quit business school. She soon met Rodney Blane Ball, on a blind date. On May 25, 1958, they married and lived in Kansas City, while Blane was completing hair styling school. Their first-born son, William Rodney, was born on March 6, 1961, while temporarily living in DeSoto, Kansas and operating a new beauty salon in Lawrence, Kansas. Mary served as the accountant for the salons working out of a home office. Their second born son, Steven Lee, was born on July 10, 1962. Shortly after that they moved to Lawrence, where Mary lived for the next 56 years of her life. The first 28 years she lived in her favorite house, an old 1880’s built mansion that Lawrence eventually grew around and surrounded. The next 28 years she lived in the country near Clinton Lake. Mary, being a devoted wife and mother, insisted that her boys grow up in church, so the family joined the Lawrence Friends Church, an evangelical Quaker church in the neighborhood. Here she and her sons made commitments to Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Having a personal relationship with Christ became the most important aspect of her life. Eventually, her husband also became a Christian. She was a devoted member for over 40 years, before eventually following her husband in attending the Lawrence First Southern Baptist Church. When the boys grew up, Mary decided to go to work outside the home, first with secretarial positions, then returning to accounting. She started work for the University of Kansas print shop in 1980, a job she kept for 18 years, before taking early retirement in 1998 to care for her ailing mother. Her attention to getting things done correctly and with integrity was something her sons took note of and tried to emulate. Her stubborn determination to succeed despite numerous challenges set a wonderful example. After her husband passed away in 2009, she continued to live with her oldest son William, who had returned to Lawrence while commuting to work in Kansas City. Mary began to enjoy traveling more, often coming to visit her other son Steven in Longview, Texas where he teaches at LeTourneau University and to British Columbia, Canada in 2014 when Steven was on sabbatical leave at Trinity Western University. After William passed away in 2018, Mary chose to sell the home and move permanently to Longview, Texas, where she lived with her son Steven and daughter-in-law Emma. Mary made many good friends in the 8 years she lived in Texas. Her church family at Hope Fellowship Church CMA was an important support network for her. Going to church on Sundays became the one outing she looked forward to most. She also looked forward to each visit of her two grandsons, Alexander and Darby. They always played cards with her every time they came to visit. Also, our neighborhood Bible Study group has been a close group of friends. Everyone seemed to love Mary and enjoy visiting with her. During the last few months of her illness, the Chambers Hospice nurses were like angels. They not only came to clean her and take care of her medical care, but they would also visit with her, making her feel special and loved. She lived a very good quality of life all the way until her last day on earth. She is now in the presence of her Lord and Savior and reunited with departed loved ones. She will be greatly missed by us and by her two dogs Peter and Lucy. She will remain a huge part of our lives and her testimony of faith lives on.