Katie Katrine Balls

Katie Katrine Balls departed this life on Wednesday June 9th in the comfort of her home with her family. Katie was born on November 27th, 1921 to the late Jonah Jennings and Rose Ella Cooper Jennings of Sylvania, Georgia. We thank and praise God for sharing Katie with us on this earth for 99 years and she will truly be missed. Katie was raised in Sylvania and Hiltonia, Georgia with her family and she attended the local school in her area. Katie had many hobbies and dancing was what she loved the best. She used to tell the story of how she was such a great dancer and one day she was asked to join a traveling dancing group, but her mother would not allow her to leave home. Katie said she would dance and ‘Strut Ant Lizzie” and anyone who knew her would agree that she could walk that dance (umm, that would be the twerk for us). Katie’s second favorite hobby was dress making and, in those days, she didn’t have access to patterns. She was a natural when it came to body measuring and making a dress or a jacket to your style. She even made a fancy dress jacket one time for one of her great granddaughters’ school play and it was flyyy… Katie resided in Hiltonia until she met and fell in love with her boo Mr. Junious “Reds” Balls of Savanah, Georgia. Katie and Junious would flirt and date for a while (but not too long cause you know those down south women didn’t play that) and soon thereafter they would wed in holy matrimony. Katie and June (as she sometimes called him) moved to Savanah, Georgia and to their union three children were born, Lonnie, Eleanora and Elouise. The family moved to Chester, PA where they both worked and raised their family. Katie was employed through the Chester Unemployment Office in Chester, PA. and she worked for several families as a private housekeeper and cook for many years. Although Katie worked and earned her own money, she would often say “I don’t have to work cause my husband takes care of me”. Katie was classy and sassy and to know her was to love her because she was a sweetheart. After retiring from the working world, Katie would dedicate the rest of her days to her family. Katie raised 3 generations of children and she did it all while praising the Lord, smiling and with her infamous “Switch”. Yessss, the switch. Katie was a God-fearing woman and she prayed every single day. There was never a time that we can remember that she did not have her bible, reading and studying and praying for all her children including her extended children. See…. Katie was the Matriarch of our family and all our friends or whomever she met was welcomed with open arms. Katie was a great woman in her community where she opened her home to many people. Katie never turned away anyone who was hungry or needed shelter and she would give you her last dime if you asked for it. Now, we know how loving and kind she was but there is a but to this all…and if you made her mad or angry she gave it to you.. with the switch. She was so good and soft spoken that she would tell you to go outside and grab her a few switches from the tree. So unknowingly as kids you gone outside and grab the freshest green switches you could find and take them to her. She would kindly stand there and twist the switches together and after that, it was on and popping. All you knew is that you just got struck with the switch which felt like a knife going up and down your back or across your arms and legs. Katie didn’t hit you much just enough to make you run and sit down and listen…that’s all. It wasn’t child abuse or anything like that, it was time to sit down and be quite or else. Though we are all sad to know that we will not see Katie in this life again, we will meet again. We will miss hearing her telling us to go get her some tobacco or some snuff, taking her to the casino and she would win on every machine she played, taking her out to the Old Country Buffet, having birthday parties for her and showering her with gifts just because. Katie would sometimes say she wanted to go home because she felt like all her family was gone. Well, Katie was not alone at all, she had all of us here today, neighborhood kids and every type of person you could think of loved her very much. Katie loved us all but most of all she loved to worship the Lord. She was a faithful servant to the word of God and a true believer in his everlasting love. She would wake up in the morning shouting and praising the Lord. Katie was a strong woman and never let anything hold her down. She taught us to never be weary, never give up, keep on moving ahead no matter what and know that God will never leave us or forsake us even until our last days. As we can attest and witness to her life, Katie was an angel who prayed and watched over us all and we are forever grateful. Katie was proceeded in death by her husband Junious Balls, mother-in law Nora Tucker, son Lonnie Balls, brothers Mase Jennings and Isarel Jennings, sisters Mattie Buxton, Julia Herrington, Louise Knights, Mary Polk, Johnnie Mae Robertson, and great-grandson Daniel Simms. Katie leaves to cherish her memory and to carry on her legacy two daughters Eleanora Balls, Elouise Jones (Martinos), 12 grandchildren Katie Argro, Diana Balls, Cheryl Balls, Charmisa Roberts, Arebretta Argro, David Balls, James Balls, Martinos Balls (Jernine), John Balls, Dennis Broadway, Raymond Argro (Ericka), Lonnie Balls, Jr., special grandson Brian Scott of Chester, PA., 28 great-grandchildren, 50 great-great grandchildren and 3 great-great-great grandchildren. Katie will be missed by her eldest nephew Ralph Frazier Wilson of Atlanta, Georgia, eldest cousin Ophelia White of Atlanta, Georgia, close nephews Jackie, Marion, Randy, Johnny and Leonard Robertson of Philadelphia, PA., special sons John Scott of Chester, PA. and Dennis Broadway of Collingdale, PA., special daughters Jernine Moore and Kelly Lane of Linwood, PA., longtime friend Blanch Jennings of Chester, PA a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord; 2 Corinthians 5:8

Katie Katrine Balls

November 27, 1921 - June 9, 2021