Ruth Ball

Ruth was born in Chicago, Illinois. After graduating Ruth from Carleton College in 1946, she returned to Chicago and joined the staff of a regional newspaper, The Southwest News Herald, serving as a member of the news staff and editor of the Women’s News Section. 

Ruth and Russell Ball, also a native Chicagoan, were married in 1955, and moved to Lynchburg in 1956 when Russell joined Babcock and Wilcox Company’s nuclear energy program. Russell died last November (2014) after a brief illness. Ruth has two sons, a daughter, and three granddaughters