Deceased 1948 Istrouma Graduates

GROSS, JOYCE Sharkey
A resident of Baker, she died at 7:05 am, 'Wednesday, March 19, 1997, at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center. She was 66 and a native 'of Baton Rouge. Visiting at Baker Funeral Home, 6401 Groom Road, Baker, 4 pm, to 8 p.m.
Thursday and after 8 a.m. Friday, Religious services at the funeral home chapel at 11 a.m. Friday, conducted by the Rev. B.K. Miller of First Baptist Church of Baker.  Interment in Hillcrest Memorial Gardens. Survived by husband, Joseph C. Gross, Baker; stepmother, Alice Hitchcock Sharkey, Baton Rouge;  two sons, Jeff Gross, Reserve, and  Jay Gross, Philadelphia; a sister, 
Mattie Violetta Henderson, Baton Rouge; two sisters-in-law, Alpha Myers, Ethel, and Mary Bouquet, Pointe Coupee Parish; 
and seven grandchildren. Preceded in death by father and mother, John and Myrtle Frey Sharkey. She was a member 
of First Baptist Church of Baker.

Stegen, John E.
Died 1 am Saturday, Nov. 12, 1994, at Rapides General Hospital, Alexandria.  He was 63, a resident of Pineville and native of New Orleans.  He was a retired U.S. Department of Agriculture programs specialist, with 36 years of service, and a US Navy veteran .  Visiting at Hixson Brothers Funeral Home, Pineville, 4 to 9 pm Sunday and after 8 am Monday.  Religious services at the funeral home chapel at 11 am Monday conducted by the Rev. David Brooks.  Burial in Forest Lawn Memorial Park.  Survived by wife, Reba N. Stegen, Pineville; a daughter, Karla J. Acuna, Pineville; a brother, Andrew H. Stegen, Metairie; two sister, Inga Burkett, Memphis, Tenn., and Johanna Petty, Atlanta, GA; and a granddaughter, Haley N. Acuna, Pineville.  He was a member of Calvary Baptist Church, Alexandria, Alexandria Exchange Club and held offices including past president on Alexandria Lion's Club.  Memorial donations may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, One St. Jude Place Building, P.O. Box 1000, Dept. 300, Memphis, Tenn., 38148-0552, or Louisiana Baptist Children's Home, P.O. Box 4196, Monroe, 71211-9986.

 
BALLARD SR., KERNAN BERNELL "Because man goeth to his long (eternal) home ... Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." -- Ecclesiastes 12:5, 7. Mr. Ballard passed away at 6:45 p.m. Monday, Aug. 30, 2004, at his residence surrounded by his loving family. He was 73 and a native and resident of Baton Rouge. Visiting at Greenoaks Funeral Home, 9595 Florida Blvd., from 4 p.m to 9 p.m. Wednesday and after 8 a.m. Thursday. Relig-ious service at 10 a.m. Thurs-day at Green-oaks Funeral Chapel, conducted by the Rev. Wayne Austin. Interment in Greenoaks Memorial Park. He is survived by his beloved wife of 55 years, Betty LeBlanc Ballard of Baton Rouge; two daughters, Brenda Camp and husband Ben of Walker, and Debbie Vidrine and husband Bubba of Baton Rouge; a son, Bernell Ballard Jr. and wife Sharon of Baton Rouge; six grandchildren, Kristy Ballard, Blaise Ballard, Scott Jordan, Courtney Vidrine, B.J. Vidrine and Bonnie Vidrine; a great-granddaughter, Riley Jordan; and a brother, Herbert Ballard and wife Fay of Baton Rouge. He was preceded in death by his loving parents, Samuel W. and Marie P. Sicard Ballard; and a brother, Alvin Ballard Sr. and wife Jewel Ballard. Pallbearers will be Blaise Ballard, Scott Jordan, B.J. Vidrine, Alvin Ballard Jr., Billy Ballard, Jim Clark, R.J. Perault Jr. and Mike McMurray. He was a member of Istrouma Baptist Church for 64 years. He was a retired sports writer, columnist and copy editor for The Advocate and the State-Times with 41 years of service at the newspapers. His "byline" was in the papers on coverage of a myriad of sports events and was familiar to fans for many years. He received many awards from The Associated Press, United Press International and the Louisiana Sports Writers' Association, among others, for excellence in sports writing. One of his columns (on gun control) was inserted into the Congressional Record. He was named to the Hall of Fame of the Louisiana Sports Writers' Association and was presented the LSWA's Distinguished Service Award in sports journalism at the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame annual induction ceremonies held at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches. He also received Distinguished Service Awards in sports journalism from the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame, the Louisiana High School Athletic Association and the Baton Rouge Boat Club; and was named to the Parkview Baptist Athletic Hall of Fame, where he was named "Mr. Sportswriter." He also received writing awards for boating and boat-racing coverage. An avid boater and skier, he additionally served as boating editor of the Morning Advocate during the highly popular years of boat racing in the 1960s in south Louisiana. Bernell pursued many interests. He was an accomplished pianist who played with his own musical group as a young adult. He later also played the electronic keyboard. He was a composer of words and music and wrote one of the early Istrouma High School fight songs. As a young adult, he was a soloist for several years while a member of the choir at Istrouma Baptist Church. He was also popular as a singer and pianist at social and entertainment events in the area. He was active in many fields of public service. He was a former vice president of the Baton Rouge Jaycees and was involved in the early stages of the Baton Rouge State Fair and numerous other civic projects presented by the Jaycees organization. In addition, he was the state director (Louisiana) for the Miss Universe Pageant, president and executive director of the Miss Louisiana Pageant Inc. and director of the Miss Louisiana-USA Pageant (1968-70). He was also chairman and director of the Miss Baton Rouge Pageant (1965-67) and of the Miss Baton Rouge Boat Queen Pageant (1962-66). He was the founding president of ALERT (Allied Louisiana Emergency Radio Team) and of RECON (also an emergency radio network). He also contributed volunteer service to the Louisiana Civil Defense, American Red Cross, United Way, BREC, Golden Gloves and the Law Enforcement Division of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. He was a former certified tournament director, of senior rank, with the U.S. Chess Federation. He was an excellent photographer and a standout young softball player, golfer and skater. His special interests included the fields of comparative religion, metaphysics and the power of the human spirit. In his years of working with and writing about young people and his fellow man, he touched many lives. He was greatly helpful in words and deeds. He was a newspaperman through many transitions of the industry and was in the forefront of today's high tech newspaper computer technology. In all, Bernell worked for five newspapers, completing six years of studies and training. His passage included the Southwest Citizen in Lake Charles, where he received his journeyman printer's card and became a member of the International Typographical Union. He returned to Baton Rouge as a printer and linotype operator in the composing room at the Morning Advocate, then moved to the newsroom as a sports writer and columnist. He later became skillful in computer engineering technology and was the systems administrator of his own online computer service, which he maintained as a public service for several years -- but he liked to relate that he, like Benjamin Franklin, was also a journeyman printer. Journalism, however, was to be his forte, and he covered many of the top sports events and top stars of the era until he suffered a heart attack in 1972. Although he returned to work, he was hampered by numerous serious illnesses and major surgeries until his retirement from The Advocate in 1993.
Published in The Advocate on 9/1/2004.
Guest Book • Charities

Harold H. Beaucoudray