Dorothy Louise (Simmons) Ballew

Dorothy Louise (Simmons) Ballew passed away peacefully on February 4, 2022, at Homestead Nursing Home in Hillsboro, Texas, with her family by her side.  She will Lie in State from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, Friday, February 11, 2022, at Marshall and Marshall Funeral Directors in Hillsboro, Texas.  Graveside services will be at 11:00 am, Saturday, February 12, 2022, at Richland Cemetery in Mertens, Texas, with Reverend Darren Heil officiating.

Dorothy was born in a snowstorm on April 9, 1928, in Italy, Texas to Arthur Craig Simmons and Tera Frances (Perry) Simmons.  Her family moved to Mertens in 1932 where she attended school and spent most of her life.  She met Weldon Wayne Ballew, and they married on January 7, 1945, when he returned home from World War II in Europe.  She went to work at the Mertens Post Office in 1951 and became Postmaster in 1963.  After a long career, she retired April 30, 1993.  She was a lifelong member of First Baptist Church in Mertens.

Preceding her in death were her parents; her husband, Wayne; her son-in-law, Jimmy Hohenberger; her brothers, Floyd Simmons, and Lee Roy Simmons; her sisters, Mildred Gunter, and Frances Vuckovich.  She is survived by her two daughters, Pam St. Ama (Ken) and Angela Hohenberger; her grandson, Benjy Hohenberger; her granddaughter, Amy Ward (Wayne); her great-granddaughters Macy Ward and Paige Ward; her sister, Joan Marquart; and numerous nieces and nephews.  Special thanks go to her Mertens nieces and nephews who so lovingly were always available to help her in any way.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to First Baptist Church, P.O. Box 158, Mertens, Texas 76666 of Richland Cemetery Association, 22060 W. Highway 22, Mertens, Texas 76666.