Wife of Latter-day Saint apostle dies at 86

SALT LAKE CITY — Barbara Ballard, wife of Latter-day Saint apostle President M. Russell Ballard, died at age 86 after a long battle with various health issues, including Alzheimer’s, according to officials from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Barbara Ballard was born and raised in Salt Lake City and attended the University of Utah where she studied English, church officials said. During her time at the university, she also met her husband, who now serves as the acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles — one of the highest governing bodies in The Church of Jesus Christ.

President Ballard often joked that it took some convincing to get her to marry him after he met her at a “Hello Day Dance” hosted by the university, KSL.com reported.

“That was the beginning of a courtship of 11 months. I knew from the beginning that I wanted to marry her, but she didn’t share the same feelings. It was a little hard convincing her. I kid her now that getting her to agree to marry me was the greatest sales job I ever did,” he said.

Shortly after they were married, President Ballard was asked to serve as a bishop in the church and remained in leadership positions ever since, including as a mission president in Canada and as a member of the Quorum of the Seventy — another high governing body of the church. Barbara Ballard accompanied and served with her husband during these assignments and held several leadership positions of her own within the church.

In 2002, Brigham Young University–Idaho honored Sister Ballard as the Exemplary Woman of the Year for her “dedication to family and her unselfish work in the church and her community,” church officials said in the statement.

She was also a mother of seven children, and “her lifelong focus was her family, and her kind nature made the Ballard home a gathering place where both her own children and their friends loved to be,” church officials said in a statement.

“I married the right daughter of God,” President Ballard once said. “Without the help and direction of Barbara, our family relationships would not have been as happy and fulfilling as they were. Barbara is a treasure for our family forever. We honor her for her constant love, good judgment and counsel.”

Funeral services will be held on Monday, Oct. 8, at noon at the Monument Park Stake Center, 1320 S. Wasatch Drive in Salt Lake City. A public viewing will be held Sunday evening on Oct. 7, from 5 – 7:30 p.m. at the same location.