Franklin – Mack Russell Balance, 70, went home to be with the Lord on March 15, 2008. He was born on October 27, 1937 in Fayetteville, NC and raised in Kenley, NC, until the age of nine when he moved to Portsmouth, Va. He was the son of the late John William Ballance and the late Mavis Radford Ballance. Mack is survived by his wife of 45 years, Judith Rose Ballance; a daughter, Susan Ballance Denton and her husband, Eric, of Moncks Corner, SC; a son, Paul Russell Ballance and his wife, Tate, of Franklin; and seven grandchildren, Rebecca, Amber, Russell, Emily, and Abbey Ballance and Samuel and Joseph Denton.
He was a former member of the National Guard and a Navy veteran. Working his way up from brakeman to Trainmaster, Mack retired from the Norfolk and Southern Railway where he worked for 33 years. He served as a member of the Extension Leadership Council and was a Master Gardener. He was also Vice-Chairman of the Southampton County Disaster Recovery Task Force. As a member of the United Way, he served on the Citizen's Review Committee, the Board of Directors, and was past treasurer. He aided in starting the BRCG Investment Club where he served as president, and was a member of the Nottoway Investment Club.
Mack was a member of Tucker Swamp Baptist Church where he was actively involved in his Sunday School Class.
A celebration of Mack's life will be held at Tucker Swamp Baptist Church at 11:00 A. M. on Tuesday, March 18, with the Rev. Dr. Rob Edwards and the Rev. David Dillon officiating. Interment will follow in the church cemetery. The family will receive friends Monday from 7 to 8:30 pm at Wright Funeral Home. Expressions of sympathy in his memory can be made to Tucker Swamp Baptist Church Building Fund, 37527 Seacock Chapel Road, Zuni, Va. 23898. www.wrightfuneralhome.org