Martin Lewis Ball Iii , August 01, 1949 — January 09, 2019

Martin Lewis Ball III, age 69, passed away after an extended illness Wednesday evening, January 9, 2019, at his Decatur, GA home surrounded by family and friends. Martin was born in Winston-Salem, NC on August 1, 1949 to the late Col. Martin L. Ball, Jr. and Carolyn Hayes Ball.

In his senior year, Martin was an all-state debater for R.J. Reynolds high school. His team won the state championship and Martin was awarded the title of “Top Speaker of the State”. His skills as a debater served… him well as he established his life and raised a family as a Hayekian conservative and staunch Constitutional originalist in solid blue Decatur.

He was a double graduate of the University of Virginia, first attaining his bachelor’s degree in economics and then an MBA from the Darden School of Business. Between undergraduate and graduate schools, Martin served two years at Fort Eustis as a Lieutenant in the United States Army. After graduate school, Martin began his career in Raleigh with IBM.

After an extensive career in the telecommunications industry, he retired in 2009 after more than a decade with British Telecom to become a domestic engineer while his wife, Teresa, continued her career. An avid hiker, Martin enjoyed spending most of his time at his mountain home in Scaly Mountain, NC with his family, friends, and dogs. He much preferred the crisp June nights brought by high altitude over the sweltering humidity of Atlanta, often stating “I’d rather not listen to the hum of the air conditioner”.

Martin was an outstanding cook, exceptional marksman. He was a passionate reader with a wide breadth of knowledge, helping him ace nearly every Jeopardy episode he watched. Those who knew Martin well will remember his keen wit, dry sense of humor, and his impeccable comedic timing.

Martin was a loving father and husband. He is survived by his wife, Teresa Manry Ball; son Connor Martin Ball (Kaitlyn Attalie Ball) of Atlanta; son Andrew Jefferson Ball of Atlanta; brother David Hayes Ball (Laura Lee Slate) of Winston-Salem; mother-in-law Elaine Reigle Burge of Decatur; as well as numerous aunts, cousins, nieces, and nephews. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to either the Bartram Trail Association (ncbartramtrail.org) or the Sky Valley-Scaly Mountain Volunteer Fire & Rescue (P.O. Box 278, Scaly Mountain, NC 28775).

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