Obituary of Vesta Duckworth Ballinger

Funeral services for Mrs. Ballinger, age 93, will be held at 2 p.m. Monday, December 16, 2013, at St. Joseph Catholic Church with Father Lijo Thomas officiating under the direction of Golden Funeral Home. Mrs. Ballinger, owner and operator of Ballinger Pharmacy for 30 plus years and a resident of Bastrop, passed away Saturday, December 14, 2014. After finishing school she moved to Palm Beach, FL. After working for two years at Good Samaritan Hospital the war had escalated and the government was considering drafting women, so she decided to volunteer at age 22. She was one of the first women volunteers in Florida. She then went to Hunter College in New York for organization and was assigned to a naval hospital in Jacksonville, FL. It was there she met "Bal" who was working in the pharmacy. After the war they settled in Bastrop to work for Dr. Garner and was instrumental in the building of a new church and school. Mrs. Ballinger was a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church and a United States Veteran of World War II. Mrs. Ballinger is preceded in death by her husband, Joseph Parker Ballinger, Sr.; a sister, Ruth McCrary; a step-brother, Glenn Box and her parents. Mrs. Ballinger is survived by three sons, Joseph Parker Ballinger, Jr. of Tulsa, OK, Danny Phillip Ballinger of Bastrop, LA, Michael Paul Ballinger of Monroe, LA; and three grandchildren, Kendall, Haley, and Parker. Pallbearers will be: Sam Petrus, Glen Hendrix, Bill Patrick, Whit Broussard and W.V. DeBlieux. The family will receive friends from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. Sunday at Golden Funeral Home.