Kathryn (Wise) Ballard (1900-1990) was born in Louisville on May 31, 1900, to Louis Preston and Isabella (Shiddell) Wise. She was the one of nine children. Louis was a day laborer and Isabella worked as a dressmaker. By 1920, the couple was estranged and then eventually divorced. Isabella married Henry Taylor and lived in the Russell Neighborhood with her younger children. While we could not find the exact date, by 1929, Kathryn had married Dr. Orville Ballard (1896-1972), son of William H. and Bessie (Brady) Ballard. We featured Dr. Ballard previously for Black History Month.
Dr. Ballard was the senior resident physician at Waverly Hills Sanatorium for 31 years. The family lived on site at the Sanatorium when he held this position. Kathryn stayed at home with their children: Pamela, Kathryn, Orville, and Bruce. Kathryn and Bruce both became doctors at the National Institute of Health and Cornell University Medical College respectively. Orville was an Army veteran who did theatre lighting in CA. Dr. Ballard died on December 31, 1972 at the age of 76. He was buried in Section 16, Row 11, Grave 6 of Eastern Cemetery. At the time of his death, he and Kathryn were living at 661 S. 44th Street in the Shawnee Neighborhood. After his death, Kathryn and her daughter Pamela moved to Los Angeles, CA to be near Kathryn who was teaching at University of Southern California at the time. Orville was also living in the area. On May 26, 1990, Kathryn died in Los Angeles at the age of 89. Her body was returned to Louisville where she was buried next to her husband in Eastern Cemetery. Kathryn outlived all but one of her eight siblings, her sister Isabella. Photo of Kathryn is from Ancestry user Stephen Ballard. Photo of Orville Jr., Kathryn, and Orville Sr. is from Find a Grave user Anonymous.
