SALT LAKE CITY — Barbara Bowen Ballard, wife of President M. Russell Ballard, died Monday in Salt Lake City.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced Barbara Ballard’s passing Monday morning, saying she faced a long battle with various health issues that included Alzheimer’s disease.
Ballard died peacefully at home surrounded by her family, according to the news release.
Sister Ballard is the wife of M. Russell Ballard, who serves as the acting President of the faith’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
Barbara was born January 5, 1932 in Salt Lake City and studied English at the University of Utah. She married M. Russell Ballard August 28, 1951.
A public viewing is scheduled for Sunday, October 7 from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m. at the Monument Park Stake Center, 1320 South Wasatch Drive in Salt Lake City. A funeral will be held the next day, October 8, at the same location at noon.
Barbara Ballard was a mother of seven children, and the LDS Church states “Her lifelong focus was her family, and her kind nature made the Ballard home a gathering place where both her own children and their friends loved to be.”
The Ballards have 43 grandchildren and 90 great-grandchildren.
President Ballard often remarked he married the “right daughter of God.”
“Without the help and direction of Barbara, our family relationships would not have been as happy and fulfilling as they were,” he said. “Barbara is a treasure for our family forever. We honor her for her constant love, good judgment, and counsel.”
Barbara Ballard taught classes and served in several presidencies in the Primary, Young Women and Relief Society organizations over the years, and she served with her husband as he presided over the Canada, Toronto Mission from 1974 to 1977.
