Mrs. Freda W. Ballard was born July 31, 1932, in Neelyville, Missouri, the daughter of Hubert Towns and Inez Matthews Towns. Mrs. Ballard was a faithful and dutiful member of Brown Chapel AME Church in Poplar Bluff, Missouri where she served as the past president of the Women’s Missionary Society and was a deaconess. Mrs. Ballard also worked as a sales associate for many years at Montgomery-Ward’s in Poplar Bluff. Mrs. Ballard was a loving mother, grandmother, great grandmother and great-great grandmother who enjoyed sewing, crafting and spending precious time with her family and friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husbands, Henry Harrison Raney, Sr. and Roosevelt Anthony Ballard and a stepdaughter, Betty Sample.

On Monday, June 22, 2026, Mrs. Ballard transitioned at the Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center, she 93 years old.

Those left to cherish everlasting memories are her beloved children Margaret Moss of Little Rock, Arkansas; Henry Raney, Jr. of Fairview Heights, Illinois; Joyce McDonald of Poplar Bluff, Missouri and Hurley Raney of Poplar Bluff; her bonus daughters, Laura Williford of Pocahontas, Arkansas; Carolyn Kurney of Kansas City, Missouri; Denise Ballard of Seattle, Washington; her sisters, Kimberly Towns and Dorothy Hunt both of Poplar Bluff, Missouri; Theresa Bishop of Chicago, Illinois, and Margaret Dowdy also of Chicago, Illinois, and bonus sister Carolyn Towns of Poplar Bluff, Missouri; 16 grandchildren, 17 great grandchildren, and 13 great-great grandchildren, a host of other relatives and friends.

Family visitation is scheduled for Monday, July 6, 2026, beginning at 10:00 am until 11:00 am, with the public viewing from 11:00 until 12:00 noon at First United Methodist Church, 500 North Main Street, Poplar Bluff, Missouri.

Celebration of Life Service is scheduled for Monday, July 6, 2026, at 12:00 noon. Reverend William Harold, pastor of Brown Chapel AME Church, will deliver the eulogy with interment to follow in Poplar Bluff City Cemetery.

Condolences can be expressed online at www.mhfuneralhomeinc.com or via the McDonald-Horne Funeral Home Facebook page.

McDonald-Horne Funeral Home is honored to serve the family of Mrs. Freda Ballard with professional care and arrangements.