Fredrick W. Ballantine Sr.'s Obituary
Fredrick W. Ballantine (Ace), Sr., age 89, long time resident of Hinsdale, IL passed away peacefully on December 8, 2013 while convalescing at Oak Crest Manor of Spring Lake, MI. He was born on May 13, 1924 in Chicago, IL to Ralph H. and Vera J. (Jenkins) Ballantine.
As a proud member of The Greatest Generation, Fredrick (Ace) served as a United States Marine in the Southeast Pacific during World War II from March 1943 to through November 1945. He participated in the invasions at Tarawa, Saipan and Tinian where he helped install and maintain communication lines.
Following World War II, Ace played catcher for the varsity baseball team at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana where he attended college on the GI Bill. Ace was a dedicated member of the Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity at U of I and in later years helped organized 40 consecutive years of Fiji golf outings with his fraternity brothers. After graduating from the University of Illinois in February of 1951, Ace played two years of Minor League Baseball as a catcher. Ace was always a free-spirited, fun-loving people person with a zest for life.
On January 2, 1954, Ace settled down to raise a family in Hinsdale, IL when he married Jane Boand, his patient wife of 58 years. Ace enjoyed a career spanning forty years as a sales engineer selling and distributing overhead cranes in the material handling industry. Ace did not let his career get in the way of sports, outdoor activities, friends, family, and social gatherings. In his prime, not one for a lot of sleep, Ace was a fierce competitor in handball, racquetball, men’s softball, and golf. As an enthusiastic baseball coach for the Hinsdale Little League and Hinsdale/ Clarendon Hills Babe Ruth League, he was known for his “legendary whistle”. Sports, the Marines, fraternity brothers, family and camaraderie with friends both old and new were who Ace cherished each day. He was a dedicated blood donor at Hinsdale Hospital and active, long-time member of The Union Church of Hinsdale, IL.
Fred was preceded in death by his wife Jane and is survived by their 3 children: Fredrick W. “Fritz” Ballantine, Jr., of Spring Lake, MI, Joella “Joby” (Jim) Nordloh of Hinsdale, and Bro (Nancy) Ballantine of Hinsdale; 5 grandchildren: Tillie, Christie, and Natalie Nordloh, and Daniel and Rachel Ballantine. Fred was also preceded in death by his sister Vera Marie Ballantine.
An interment and committal service with military honors will be held on January 31, 2014 at 2:30 PM at the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, IL. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Semper Fi Fund 825 College Blvd., Suite 102, PMB 609, Oceanside, CA 92057 (semperfifund.org/donate/). Please feel free to sign the family’s online guestbook at www.vbkfuneralhome.com.
The family is being served by VanZantwick Bartels Kammeraad Funeral Home of Spring Lake.
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