Evagene Marie Ball

Aug 25, 1930 -

Nov 13, 2021

Evagene Marie (Reese) Ball, 91, passed away on Nov. 13, 2021.

She was born on Aug. 25, 1930, in Hardin, Mont., to Lona and Sam Reese.

Evagene graduated from Lodge Grass High School in 1948. She was senior class secretary-treasurer, a cheerleader and was active in glee club, pep club, band and chorus.

In July 1949, Evagene and Robert "Bud" Jackson Ball were married in Lodge Grass, Mont. One year later, Evagene and Bud moved to Anchorage, Alaska, where they raised four children and ran Ball Electric - moving freely between their homes in Alaska and Montana throughout the years. They bought Hardin's Canyon Gate Motel, in 1964, and built the American Inn, in 1973. In 2003, they made Billings, Mont., their home base, but returned to Alaska every summer to spend time at their family fishing cabin on the Kenai Peninsula. Evagene was married to Bud until his passing in 2017.

Evagene was an avid traveler. She and Bud escaped the winter cold by visiting friends and family in Arizona, California, and Hawaii. Evagene visited England, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Mexico, and the Panama Canal. And if she couldn't travel with her husband or a friend, she was happy to make the journey alone. Evagene flew to Alaska one last time in August, road-tripped from Montana to Arizona and California in September, and had made plans to visit Hawaii on Nov. 15, 2021, before falling ill.

Survivors include her four children, Julia Arneson of Billings, Gerald Ball of Sterling, Alaska, Karen (Edward) von Breyman of Sterling, and Katherine Kalei of Honolulu, Hawaii; grandchildren, Rhonda (Roger) Abell of Billings, Brenda (Robert) Card of Chattanooga, Tenn., Jana (Steve) Kembel of Ronald, Wash., Holly (Michael) DaCorsi of Peoria, Ariz., Kamuela (Leila) Kalei of Honolulu, Scott Ball of San Francisco, Calif., and Kaysha (Michael) Thomas of Honolulu; great-grandchildren, Steven Abell of Missoula, Brandon (Larrissa) Abell of Billings, Julia Preston of Chattanooga, and Sonja and Brynja Kjostad of Peoria; and great-great-grandchildren, Bella Porter and Oakley Abell of Billings, and Roman and Avah Bazan of Chattanooga. Other surviving relatives include Vivian Henderson of Chula Vista, Calif.; Marian Shaver of Forsyth, Mont.; Evelyn Ball of Anchorage, Alaska; Chris (Rick) Ogden of Chula Vista and Robin (Paul) Higginson of El Cajon. She was preceded in death by her parents, Lona and Sam Reese; husband, Robert Ball; grandson, Hamilton Ball; and great-granddaughter, Stephanie Abell.

Services will be held at Bullis Mortuary in Hardin, on Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021, at 11 a.m.