On The Fly

"Don't worry, Mom, if it is your time to leave this world and join Dad in heaven, rest assured I love you; we all love you. We will be fine; you've raised your children well. I will miss you deeply." On October 30, 2018, at 2:15 p.m. Mauricette Elaine Ball (Bontemps) left this world, with her family by her side, in the comfort of her carefully crafted home, finally at rest. My mother was born in La Rochelle, France, on February 16, 1934. She grew up in a metropolitan port with a population of about 60,000 in the late 1950s. Her life dramatically changed at 23 when she met a young man, Donald Lee Ball , from Canton, Ill., while working at the lunch counter on the Army Base where he was stationed in Lagord, France. They married and moved to the rural midwestern town of Cuba, Illinois. Together they raised an upstanding family. Well . . .  Mother cherished her family deeply. There were no Dr. Spock books from the 1960s to instruct her on how to raise her c...

Mauricette Elaine Ball (Bontemps), 84,  of Cuba passed away peacefully at 2:15 p.m. Tuesday, October 30, 2018 in the comfort of her home, with her loving children by her side. Mauricette was born February 15, 1934 in La Rochelle, France to Roger Jean Francois Bontemps and Lucienne Marie Fernande Percot of Lagord, France. Mauricette met and married Donald Lee Ball in La Rochelle, France. With barely a command of the English language immigrated to America in 1959. As a devoted and loving wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother, Mauricette cherished her family above all. Her marriage to Donald flourished, together they built an upstanding family. Donald passed in January 2015. What God has kept together for over 57 years, he shall keep together for all eternity. Mauricette, known as Marci to her friends, served her community as a cook at Cuba Elementary School, a housekeeper and caregiver for the elderly, and a self-taught beautician. During the fall harves...