MAJ. ROBERT “BOB” BALL

Maj. (Ret.) Robert Michael “Bob” Ball, 72, of Saint Clairsville, Ohio, entered eternal rest on Nov. 28, 2023. Born in 1951, the son of Bill and Norma (Ciocca) Ball, Bob was raised in Shadyside and Bellaire, Ohio. A Catholic by faith, he was an active member of Saint Mary’s Church in Shadyside and later Saint John, Bellaire. He graduated from Bellaire High School in 1969, catching the winning touchdown pass for the Big Reds against Wheeling Central his senior year. He was state nominee to the Virginia Military Institute, Class of 1973, where he accepted a football scholarship, graduating second in his class in Biology before attending Medical College of Virginia to receive a D.D.S. in Dentistry and officer training at the U.S. Army War College. Marrying his beloved wife Linda (Milliken) in 1977, he practiced dentistry as a U.S. Army officer for twenty years as they raised two children, deploying across the East coast, Germany, and Korea. Upon military retirement he returned to the Ohio Valley and studied teaching, becoming a high school science teacher and teaching at many local Catholic schools. “Dr. Ball” loved hosting the science fair, trivia and games in class, telling jokes, and giving frequent quizzes. His favorite field trip was “water macroinvertebrate survey” in Oglebay creek. He also was a member of the Saint John Pastoral Council and the Saint Vincent de Paul Society, where his leadership gave more opportunities for delivering jokes. His character, enthusiasm for teaching, and tireless commitment to his students, parish, family and country made the community around him better.