Obituary of James-Leo Ballard

SPRINGFIELD -- James Leo "Jim" Ballard, 87, died Tuesday in Elizabethtown, KY. He was a US Navy veteran of World War II, had been a partner in Ballard & Hamilton Construction Co. from 1948 until 1959 and was a farmer. He had a passion for golf and had won the Lincoln Homestead Golf Tournament several times, was an avid hunter and fisherman, a trainer of championship bird dogs and a past member of the Knights of Columbus. He was preceded in death by a grandson, Richard Taylor. Survivors include his wife, of 65 years, Leila Bean Ballard; four sons, Jimmy (Sue) Ballard of Elizabethtown, Joe (Pina) Ballard of Danville, Bill (Dorothy) Ballard of Springfield and Dick (Dee) Ballard of Okeana, OH; five daughters, Tippy (Tom) Taylor of Shepherdsville, Margaret (Donnie) Polin of Elizabethtown, Susan "Bean" (Jerry) Osbourne and Brenda (Mack) Hiter, all of Springfield and Lee (Sam) Wheatley of Bardstown, KY; one brother, Tom Ballard of Bardstown; one sister, Emily Chandler of Riner, VA; 33 grandchildren; and 15 great-grandchildren. Funeral Mass will be conducted at 11 a.m. Friday at St. Dominic Catholic Church in Springfield, with burial in the church cemetery. Visitation will be from 3-8:30 p.m. Thursday at Hale-Polin-Robinson Funeral Home, where a prayer service will be held at 7 p.m. Memorial contributions are suggested to St. Dominic School.