Celebrating Morley Ballantine

Family, friends gather to memorialize journalist, women's rights advocate

by Dale Rodebaugh
Herald Staff Writer

Article Last Updated; Saturday, October 17, 2009 9:42AM

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Photo by STEVE LEWIS/Herald

Robert Beers, left, and Mickey Hogan speak at the service for Morley Ballantine on Friday at the Fort Lewis College Community Concert Hall.

A cross section of friends and acquaintances, arriving from near and far, gathered Friday at Fort Lewis College to celebrate the life of Morley Cowles Ballantine, the longtime chairman and editor of The Durango Herald.

Her name had national import and impact. But she never bragged.

- Joel Jones, former Fort Lewis College president

The speakers recalled Mrs. Ballantine as a journalist, philanthropist, mentor, friend, champion of causes, go-getter who got things done, sister and mother and grandmother.

They remembered her iron will and the steely look when her high standards weren’t met or when she was disappointed in someone’s performance. But they recalled, too, her smile when she liked what she’d heard or seen, her generosity, concern for others, business acumen and the delight she found in family and friends.

Mrs. Ballantine died of respiratory failure at her Durango home Oct. 10. She was 84.

Joel Jones, former president of FLC and a close friend, said Mrs. Ballantine’s support was key in funding and building the Community Concert Hall, where the crowd of about 400 had assembled, as well as the Center of Southwest Studies, another campus jewel. When the college needed funding, Mrs. Ballantine could open wide doors others barely could crack, Jones said.

“Her name had national import and impact,” said Jones, who served as master of ceremonies. “But she never bragged.”

Meg Wilson, who arrived from Boston, recalled before the ceremony began that she was familiar with Mrs. Ballantine as an administrator at Fountain Valley School in Colorado Springs where sons, Richard and Bill, boarded and at Concord Academy in the Boston area where daughters Elizabeth and Helen studied.

“I seemed to run into a Ballantine every time I turned around,” Wilson said. “I was impressed because she encouraged women to speak their mind.”

Richard Ballantine, publisher of the Herald, recalled that his mother always was involved with news gathering and kept meetings brief and to the point. She kept an eye open for hard news and fodder for editorials of which she wrote thousands over the years.

“She approached the business with verve and gusto,” Richard Ballantine said. “Herald readers benefited.”

Businessman Ed Zink talked about the arrival of Mrs. Ballantine and her husband, Arthur, after they moved from the Midwest when they bought the Herald in 1952.

Mrs. Ballantine belonged in Durango, Zink said. She broke barriers and expanded boundaries. She was fair-minded and held high standards for herself and others.

“No one knows why they took a chance on this cow town,” Zink said. “But we’re glad they did.”

Sheri Rochford, former director of development and alumni at FLC, recalled Mrs. Ballantine as a mentor to her and other women, always stressing that women must stand up for what they believe. She could be a task master but she also had a softer side, Rochford said.

Mrs. Ballantine was a working chairman of the Fort Lewis College Foundation board, Rochford said.

“She wasn’t an honorary chairman,” Rochford said. “She did some of the heavy lifting.”

Granddaughter Morley Healy spoke for Mrs. Ballantine’s nine grandchildren. She recalled the importance “Mamama” gave to a rounded education and exposure to other cultures. Trips to pyramids and mosques always were followed by a quiz about what they had seen and learned, Healy said.

daler@durangoherald.com