Steven Jay Ballard

Steven Jay Ballard, 71, of Robinson, IL, went home to be with his Lord on April 9, 2026, from the comfort of his own home, surrounded by the love of the family he had spent a lifetime building.

Steve was born on March 22, 1955, in Robinson, the son of Charles W. "Chuck" and Doris Jean (Knotts) Ballard. Apart from a brief stretch in Linton, IN, Robinson was home for much of his youth, and it was there that he first discovered the joy of testing what his body could do. He pitched for the baseball team, ran track, played basketball, and found his truest athletic love in the pole vault, where he set records in both Linton and Robinson that would stand for many years after he had traded his pole for a tool belt. Like a lot of boys in that era, he also fell hard for cars, spending hours tinkering and dreaming the way only a teenager can.

After graduating from Robinson High School in 1973 and earning his Associate of Science from Lincoln Trail College two years later, Steve took a job at Marathon in 1977, where he would work for the next three decades as an operator and in safety. He was good at the work, good enough that he could have climbed higher, but he turned down every opportunity that would have pulled him away from the thing his hands were really made for. Because in 1976, a year before Marathon, Steve had already found his calling in carpentry.

Building was where his creative soul came alive. Over the years, he framed and finished three houses from the ground up, remodeled countless others, and added rooms, porches, and possibilities to homes all over the area. Eventually, he started Ballard Construction, and he loved every aspect of the work, right down to the backhoe he drove with the contented pride of a man who genuinely enjoyed his job. When his daughter Michelle bought a house built in 1901 on a foundation of sand, Steve was there. When his mother needed help after his father's passing, Steve was there. Whatever the project, whatever the problem, if it could be fixed or framed or figured out, he could do it, and he did it for the people he loved without ever being asked twice.

What made Steve such a gifted craftsman was the same thing that made him such a gifted friend: he paid attention. He loved people, loved watching them, loved talking with them, and loved telling them stories, the wilder and more elaborate the better. His years with Amway gave him all the excuse he needed to strike up a conversation with anybody, and his family still laughs about the way he would sit down at an amusement park and happily people-watch while everyone else ran off to the rides. He held onto his flip phone long past its expiration date, finally upgrading only because his Amway friends insisted, and even then, you got the sense he preferred the world in front of him to the one on a screen.

On May 31, 1975, in Porterville, Steve married Vicki Ann Swarens, and from that day forward, every good thing in his life had her somewhere in the frame. They rode motorcycles together across the western states and all the way to Niagara Falls. They boated and camped and skied at Mill Creek, Kentucky Lake, and Patoka, turning ordinary weekends into the kind of memories their children still hold onto. After Steve retired in 2007, he took over the kitchen with the same enthusiasm he brought to everything else, happily turning out gumbo, fish fries, and pot meals with everything in it (that only he would eat). A few years ago, he taught himself to make homemade noodles because Steve was always learning.

He was fiercely proud of his children and grandchildren. He loved cheering from the stands at his grandkids' games, especially track meets, where a former pole vaulter could appreciate every jump and stride. He loved the trips out to Las Vegas to see Michael's kids, and he loved simply being in the middle of his family, telling one more story, fixing one more thing, feeding one more crowd. He was dependable in a way that people don't always know how to be anymore, kind almost to a fault, and so even-tempered that his rare flashes of anger became the stuff of family legend. Mostly, though, he was love with work boots on.

Steve was a longtime member of Robinson First Christian Church, where he had served as a deacon in years past, and the faith that carried him there shaped the husband, father, and friend he became. He believed that this life, as full and as good as his had been, was never the whole story. He believed that the hands of the same God who had given him his craftsman's gifts would one day welcome him home. And on April 9th, that is exactly what happened. The man who built so many houses has stepped into the one not made with hands, eternal in the heavens, and the family who loved him holds onto the hope that he is there with his Savior, finally and fully home.

Steve is survived by Vicki, his wife of nearly fifty-one years; by his children and their spouses, Michelle & Brian Lockhart and Michael & Tonya Ballard; by his grandchildren, Preston Lockhart, Sydney Lockhart, Joselynn Ballard, Scarlett Ballard, Gavin Ballard, and MaKayla Ballard; by his mother, Doris Ballard; by his sister and brother-in-law, Phyllis & Steve Eitel; by his mother-in-law, Margaret Swarens; by his sister-in-law, Sharon Reed; by his brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Rich & Cheryl Swarens; and by several cousins, nieces, and nephews. He was preceded in death by his father, Charles W. "Chuck" Ballard, and his father-in-law, Richard Swarens.

A time of visitation will be held from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 16th, at the Goodwine Funeral Home in Robinson. Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, April 17th at the funeral home, with Pastor Jeff Monroney officiating. During the service, family and friends will be given the opportunity to speak to the fullness of this dear man's life. For those unable to attend, a live stream of the service will be available at https://www.goodwinefuneralhomes.com/live-stream/live-stream

Burial will be in Oak Grove Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to the Robinson High School Athletics Department or to the Robinson First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).