Fred Ball Passes Away

[NOVARick]

I met Mr. Ball once and found him to be a very nice man. He seemed to really enjoy chatting with people who loved his sister. And I'll never forget the feeling I had looking into his blue eyes while he talked to me because they looked so much like his sister's. He had a good long life, but still it's sad to lose yet another important person in Lucy's life, much less someone who grew up with her, and her own flesh and blood. Condolences to his wife, daughter, cousin Cleo, and the rest of the extended family.

This following was e-mailed out today by Ric Wyman of the Lucy-Desi Museum:

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FRED BALL, LUCILLE BALL’S BROTHER, DIES

Jamestown, NY – At the request of his family, the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center, in his hometown, Jamestown, New York, sadly announces the passing of Fred Ball at his home in Cottonwood, Arizona earlier today.

Mr. Ball was born on July 17, 1915, in Jamestown, the son of Henry and Desiree (Hunt) Ball, and younger brother of comedienne Lucille Ball. He left Jamestown to join his sister in California in the 1930’s, where he later traveled with his brother-in-law Desi Arnaz and his band and worked at Desilu Productions, the studio that produced Mission Impossible, Star Trek, and The Untouchables, as well as “I Love Lucy”. In recent years, he and his wife operated a motel in Cottonwood.

From her home in New York City, Lucie Arnaz said, “It was always special to us that Uncle Fred and I shared the same birthday. In addition to being my mother’s brother, he was also a close friend of my father. I like to think that they are all enjoying a wonderful reunion right now.”

Mr. Ball had requested that his ashes be interred in Jamestown’s Lake View Cemetery along with his sister, parents, grandparents and other family.