Larry Gene Ballinger 78, of The Villages, FL. Passed away peacefully at The Villages Hospice House on July 10, 2015 after a courageous three year battle with lung cancer. Prior to his passing he was able to spend a week at his home with all nine of his children and most of his grandchildren and great grandchildren. It was a great tribute of their love for him
Larry was born in Casey, IL. To Clarence and Doris Ballinger on January 29, 1937. He loved sports, teaching and coaching. He graduated in 1955 from Robinson High School where he made the Illinois allstate teams in both football and basketball. He then graduated from Eastern Illinois University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Education. After coaching at the high school level for several years, he joined the Football coaching staff at the University of Notre Dame in 1969. While coaching there he earned a Master of Science degree in Institutional Administration in 1970. In 1975 he was named the defensive line coach at Cornell University. In 1978 he returned to Notre dame as the director of the MBA program until he retired in 1998.
In 2005 Larry and his wife Caroline (Dunn) Ballinger moved to The Villages and Larry became a Guardian Ad-Litem advocating for children in the foster care system. He is survived by his loving wife of 34 years; Caroline. 7 children; Greg (Esmeralda ) Ballinger of Berkely Springs, WV., Terri (Mark) Palovick of Marietta, GA., Penni (Ken) Ivey of Purcellville, VA., Lori (Bradley) Nairne of Alexandria, VA., John Ballinger of Greensboro, NC. And Ryan Ballinger of Canton, GA. 2 Step daughters; Bonnie (Bill) Getchell of Redmond, WA. And Susan (Brian) Nolan of Canton, GA. He also has 21 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren.
Larry was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Robert and three grandchildren, Harley, Erin and Drew.
A Memorial service will be held on July 25, 2015, at 1:00 PM at Open Bible Lutheran Church, 4671 Bellwether Lane, Oxford, FL. Visitation will be from 12:00 to 1:00 PM. Family and Friends are invited to attend a luncheon following the service.
In lieu of flowers donations may be made to The Villages Hospice House, 601 Casa Bella, Lady Lake, FL and Open Bible Lutheran Church.
Leave a reply