The Ball family, immediate and extended, lost its Chairman and ballast with the passing of Browning Lamar Ball, Jr. on March 26, 2017 in Denton, Texas.  He was surrounded and loved by his wife Barbara and his children, including his dog Jake.

Born in the small town of Troy, Tennessee on August 1, 1940, to Browning and Mozelle Ball, he and his sister Kerry grew up a half mile away from the banks of the Mississippi River in West Tennessee. He graduated from Tiptonville High School in 1958 and had his first job working at the Jones Grocery Store in Tiptonville.

Lamar received his B.A. in Economics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 1962. While in college he met Paula Richardson whom he married in 1963. That same year he began his 35 year career in banking at C&S Bank in Atlanta, Georgia where he was put in charge of bookkeeping.  His first sons, David and Shannon, arrived in 1964 and 1969 respectively.

He attended the Harvard Business School Program for Management Development in 1970. Shortly thereafter, his children Jason (1972) and Allison (1975) were born.

Lamar began his Texas journey in 1979 when he moved his family to Houston where he accepted a position with the Bank of the Southwest. His only Texas born progeny, Meredith, was born in 1980.

The family moved on to Fort Worth when he became the CEO of MBank Fort Worth in 1984. From there, Lamar served as the Chairman and CEO of First State Bank of Texas in Denton beginning in 1989 before retiring from his banking career in 1998.

Lamar married Barbara on April 5, 1996 and added to the family her daughters, Angie and Jill Jester.

He then began his retirement career with Smart Start, Inc., an ignition interlock company based in Irving, Texas where he served as Chairman of the Board and CEO. He was currently serving as a Director for Cambridge, UK based company Intelligent Fingerprinting.

Lamar served as a Director for Chicago based Bank Administration Institute, the University of North Texas Foundation and Flow Healthcare Foundation of Denton. Additionally, he spent time as Vice Chairman and Director of North Texas Public Broadcasting as well as Director/Treasurer of the Fort Worth Fat Stock Show.

Lamar is survived by his devoted wife of over 20 years, Barbara Ball of Denton, TX.; son David Ball and wife Jennifer of Chicago, IL.; son Shannon Ball and wife Joanna of Denver, CO.; son Jason Ball and wife Sabrina of Ft. Worth, TX.; daughter Allison Ball Bertorelli and husband Luke of Ft. Worth, TX.; daughter Meredith Ball Martin of Heath, TX.; stepdaughter Jill Jester and husband Chris; grandchildren Nathan, Kaylan, Olan, Lulu, Alexandra, Olivia, Wyatt, Ian, Tommy, Lilah and Charlie; sister Kerry Bleeker and husband Leroy of Benbrook, TX.; and numerous nieces and cousins.

Faith was important to Lamar and Barbara as members of St. Andrews Presbyterian Church of Denton. Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Bill DeBerry Funeral Directors, 2025 W. University Drive, Denton, TX. Funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, 300 W. Oak St. in Denton.

Memorial donations may be made in Lamar Ball's name to "Health Services of North Texas Capital Campaign 4401 North I-35 Suite 312 Denton, TX 76207".