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Ball, Arthur W.

August 4, 1946 –
 February 10, 2014

Obituary

Arthur Wayne Ball, 67, passed away in his home in Plano, TX surrounded by his family on Monday February 10, 2014 after a courageous battle with cancer.  Arthur was born to the late Jess C and Laura Charlotte Ball on August 4, 1946 in Uniontown, PA.  He was one of seven children.  Arthur graduated from Uniontown High School in 1965.  He went on to join the US Army, serving time in Germany from 1965 – 1967.  Shortly after his time in the service, he met, fell in love with and married his wife, Sylvia Slupski in Erie, PA on October 4th, 1969.  They went on to have three children. Arthur’s gift in life which ultimately developed into his passion was his ability to build or construct anything from a piece of wood. He was a master craftsman in every sense of the word and could truly work magic with his hands. He started out building custom made homes in Erie before taking his trade down to North Texas where he transitioned into high end custom billiard tables, custom cabinetry and various other innovations. Arthur was an active member of American Legion Post 321 in Plano, Texas. He had more friends than anyone could ever hope for. Arthur loved to laugh and to make others laugh as well.  He could brighten up a room with his presence, and always had good joke ready to share.  As he began to design and build his custom billiard tables, he developed a love to shoot pool, and participated in various billiard leagues. The most important part of Arthur’s life was his love for his family.  With his wife, they had two daughters, one son, seven grandchildren and one great-grand child.  Arthur was always very proud of his children and was always a supportive father.  As Grandpa, he loved to have fun and was always ready for a good game of “hide and go seek” with his grandkids.  Arthur also loved to teach both his children and grandchildren his wonderful talents and trades for them to pass along to future generations. Arthur was survived by his wife Sylvia, daughter Kimberly Shumway, her husband Matthew and their children, Stephen, Mary and Sarah of Anna, TX; son Kevin Ball  of Plano, TX and his children, Brandon and Ashley of Allen, TX; and daughter Karla Naftel, her husband Michael and their children Katelyn and Isabella of McKinney, TX, great-grandson Emery Shumway of McKinney, TX brothers Jess Ball and his wife Jackie of Juno Beach, FL, Roland Ball Sr. and his wife Gayle of Frisco, TX, Jack Ball and his wife, Pattie of Mesquite, TX, Robert Ball and his wife Maria of Wylie, TX, sisters Charlotte Martin of Savannah, TX and Jayne Judy and her husband, Ed of Uniontown, Pa, his sisters by marriage and also in his heart, Jane Fisher of Middle River, MD, Toni Walker of Glendale, AZ and Debra Keep of Plano, TX, as well as his many loving nieces, nephews and cousins. Services to celebrate his life will be held at Grace Presbyterian Church 4300 W Park Blvd, Plano, TX at 11:00am Thursday February 20th.  In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that donations be made out to the Wounded Warriors Project. Arrangements are under the direction of ARIA Cremation Service and Funeral Home 19310 Preston Road Dallas, Texas 75252 214-306-6700

    Debra Keep
    14 Feb 2014
    11:18pm

    Art I will miss you. I will remember all the good times and laughs we shared over the years. Rest in peace dear “brother”.

    Maggie McMahon
    15 Feb 2014
    11:09am

    Art always made me laugh. I liked it when he laughed at his own jokes, too! He loved his family, and my most sincere sympathy goes out to my friend, Sylvia, and their wonderful adult children! Bless you all.

    Kelsey, Stephen, & Emery Shumway
    16 Feb 2014
    1:19pm

    Arthur made a great impact in our lives, & I’m so truly grateful he got to see Emery grow. He has helped Stephen and I more than anyone could ever imagine. Whenever I was introduced to the family – Arthur and Sylvia welcomed me in with open arms and because of this family, I felt truly accepted by everyone. He was a great man, who loved his family so very much. He will be truly missed.

    Tripp
    16 Feb 2014
    2:29pm

    Arthur actually custom-built my personal pool table to my specifications. It is a very fine work of art by Art, made of hand selected fine wood and superior attention to detail! We played competitive pool for several years as teammates. He was a fabulous storyteller. We spent hours sharing our repertoire of funny stories. He was a much better storyteller than me. Our birthdates are within two weeks of each other. So every year, we would meet for lunch halfway between our birthdays to celebrate and tell jokes. He was a very special friend and will indeed be missed.

    Gabriele Renteria
    16 Feb 2014
    7:48pm

    My deepest sympathy to Sylvia and family. My thoughts are with you during this time. God bless you my dear Sylvia.

    Vicki Adinolfi Keefer
    17 Feb 2014
    4:03am

    J.C. My deepest sympathy . I know how precious a brother is. I was struck on how many things Arthur and i had in common: Born in the same home town, graduated from the same high school, lived in Germany the exact same years with the Army ad even shared close birthdays(mine is 8/5)

    Charlie Smith
    17 Feb 2014
    9:03am

    Arthur was one of the finest persons that I have ever meet in my lifetime. It was my pleasure to know him and talk when we were competing against each other. I came down with the same cancer and Arthur gave me advice that he had learned from his bout with it. I’m ashamed that I did not get to spend more time with Art, but as we all know live seams to guide you in the path your intended to follow. Art was highly respected as a craftsman and a friend too us all. RIP my friend and we shall meet again someday.

    My sympathy too the Ball family for your loss of a loved one and great man.

    Gordon Werner
    17 Feb 2014
    9:55am

    I will miss you, Arthur.
    Not only were you an artist in your work and a valued business associate, but you were a wonderful friend. Few people possess a sense of humor as engaging as yours.

    Dale & Dottie Jeffries
    17 Feb 2014
    10:34am

    Arthur was a great Friend and Boss to me for the 11 years i worked for him.He taught me so much more than just how to work with wood and build pool tables, he taught me a lot about life and am a better person for knowing him.Our thoughts and prayers our with Sylvia and the Family.Rest in Peace My Friend.

    Karl Fleming
    17 Feb 2014
    11:32am

    I would like to extend my deepest sympathy to Arthur’s family. He was in my graduating class at Uniontown High School. Its been a very long time since I have seen him as we parted ways after high school but I shall miss him and remember his friendship.

    David & Cathey Green
    17 Feb 2014
    12:16pm

    Cathey and me were very sad to hear about Arthur. We hadn’t seen him in a long time but remember him fondly as a guy who always had a smile and a friendly countenance for everyone. We know you will miss him and hope you find comfort in knowing that your “old” friends
    are wishing you and all your family the best and better times soon.
    David & Cathey

    Marshall Katz
    17 Feb 2014
    3:37pm

    My deepest sympathies to the family. I’ve known “Archie” since grade schhol and he was a great friend. He will be missed.

    Brother Watt
    17 Feb 2014
    6:31pm

    I will always remember Archie Ball who I’ve known since our high school days when we were good friends and hung out together. When I saw him last at our reunions, he was the same cheerful friendly person that he was in school and we got to renew that friendship with our old school buddies for another night. He will not be forgotten by any of us. God bless old buddy, your friends back in PA miss you.

    Lisa & Frank
    17 Feb 2014
    8:40pm

    Farewell our lovely friend….. God speed on your journey. By now your are cracking jokes with the angels … always the entertainer. How we miss you so. Forever in our hearts.Blessings on your family who will miss you forever….as we will …. till we meet again.

    Manny De La Cru
    17 Feb 2014
    10:52pm

    Art you have been missed in the Billiard world since you started your battle, I personally enjoyed your presence, your smile and your jokes, we shared many laughs and many stories together. I miss you my friend! Until we meet again .

    Chuck & Lois Rossi
    18 Feb 2014
    7:01am

    We would like to express our sympathy and prayers to Arthur’s family. We hold Art’s family close in our hearts and wish you comfort in the days to come. Sympathy and Prayers from Chuck & Lois Rossi,

    Vince & Carol DeCarlucci
    19 Feb 2014
    9:53am

    Roland, JC, Jack and family, Our memories of Archie and all of you – growing up together “in the neighborhood” – one of the cornerstones of our life. We have always embraced the lessons we learned as children spending so much time in your home. Archie’s laughter and beaming smile is a treasured memory. Your family is truly blessed.

    Paula Shaffer
    19 Feb 2014
    1:16pm

    To all the remaining brothers and sisters( I knew Roland and Jack best.) but all have a special place in my heart as do your mom and dad. ……you have my deepest sympathy and my thoughts and prayers are with you all.

    Charlie and Nancy Smith
    20 Feb 2014
    6:06am

    Our prayers go out to your family.

    Debbie Jeffries
    20 Feb 2014
    9:15am

    I will miss Arthur always testing us with some kind of trivia whether it be music ,movies or places He never asked a question that he didn’t already have the answer, he was such tease. Thanks Arthur for making me think I love you and will miss that big smile of yours.

    NY Bill & Jackie
    26 Feb 2014
    4:38pm

    An EXTRAORDINARY human being !!!
    God Bless

    Dave Hoing
    5 Oct 2014
    2:09pm

    I’m only learning of Arthur’s passing today. Truly one of the nicest men I have ever known. You are missed by friends and family more than you ever imagined possible. Say Hi to Jess for me. Wish I had known sooner.

    Steve Whalen
    31 Jan 2020
    2:40am

    Sorry to her about Arthur. He made a table for me about 2002, I still have it. It’s a great piece of his work. He will be missed.

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"I can’t say enough about how helpful and professional Dusty Martin, the funeral director at the Aria Cremation location on NW Highway has been. From my initial call, he was kind and informative. My friend died at home while on hospice and she was picked up in about an hour after receiving the call from the hospice nurse. The person who arrived to pick her up was also very professional/respectful and allowed us to take as much time with her as we wished. When I met with Dusty the next day about arrangements, he explained the process and options available without being pushy or trying to “sell” extras. Throughout the process, he kept me informed and, for example, was careful to be certain I understood the cost of the obituary I wanted and offered some options for reducing that cost if I wished. When I stopped by for another reason and started talking about some of the problems I was having with the pictures and media I hoped to use at a memorial lunch I was planning, he not only listened patiently but offered technology advice and let me use his personal media player. I have had experience arranging cremations for four others using two other local companies, and this experience with Dusty at Aria has been by far the best one I have had."
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"My Daddy’s service and our family experience at Aria Northwest Highway was truly blessed. Funeral Director Dustin Martin is the kind of person that you would like to see on a more regular basis – but in his industry – you hope to not see him that often. That being said – THANK YOU DUSTIN for your unending kindness, compassion and friendship through the process. Meeting you and discussing Dallas History, Find A Grave and my Dad’s lifelong contributions to the great City of Dallas was simply wonderful! In memory of my dad James A. Dodd, Sr. – I want to personally thank you and let you know that you made everything better in that moment. Your calling to “Be There” is spot on. Aria has a one in a million guy in you! Bling Blinky of TEXAS Shout Out: God Bless You!!"
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