| Graduation Year | Class of 1973 |
| Date of Passing | Apr 16, 2010 |
| About | Douglas Raymond (Doug) Ballantine Mar 27 1955-Apr 16 2010 Mr. Douglas Raymond (Doug) Ballantine, age 55, of 122 John Ross Drive, Rome, passed away Friday afternoon, April 16, 2010, in a local medical center. He was born in St. Petersburg, FL, March 27, 1955, son of Allister Raymond Ballantine and the late Alice Norine Dillard Ballantine. He was a 1973 graduate of Pepperell High School Class. Following graduation, he attended Coosa Valley Tech, Floyd Junior College, and graduated from Shorter College with a Bachelor of Science Degree. For over 15 years, he was an employee of Georgia Power Company. For the past 15 years, he had been a teacher with the Bartow County Board of Education. During his teaching career, he had taught at Cass High School, Cloverleaf Elementary School, and prior to ill health, he was a teacher at Cass Middle School. He was a member of the Silver Creek Presbyterian Church but attended the North Broad Baptist Church. Doug was a Renaissance man in the best sense of the word. He possessed an innate curiosity about the world and all the creatures who inhabit it. He was a man of tolerance and diversity who by his example taught those traits to his sons, his students, and his friends. Doug loved many people - chief among them his wife Jenny and his sons, Matthew and Andrew. In recent years, daughter-in-law Courtney and his three grandsons- "the little men" - also found a place in his heart. His extended family also shared a unique bond with Doug. His mother-in-law, Katherine Fowler, affectionately called the "Old Women," cooked his favorite dishes and let him help her plant flowers each spring. His aunt Sharron shared his childhood in Florida and was often a welcome visitor. They all shared countless adventures, some as exotic as kayaking in the Okefenokee Swamp or white-water rafting down the Gali River in West Virginia. But he also found adventure in the most unlikely places and shared those with his family and friends. A simple walk through the woods would result in a new plant for the back yard, or a routine trip to Atlanta would end with a new place to eat or play. He sought out the side roads that led to new experiences. Not for him the shortcuts, whether on a trip or in life. He was an outdoorsman who found pleasure and knowledge in nature. He sought the natural and the authentic in all areas of his remarkable life. Doug was a master mechanic, a master marksman and a master gardener. His backyard included a pond, a waterfall, a stand of bamboo and a Japanese bonsai garden complete with carefully raked gravel and gracefully trimmed trees. He forged knives, took beautiful photographs and built several cars from the ground up; including a yellow jeep with outsized tires he built and drove when he courted Jenny. He often got up before dawn to watch Formula One Racing from Europe, and one of his favorite trips was with Jenny to the Indianapolis Grand Prix. Doug loved clothes in a unique way. His closet is filled with shoes, but not because of vanity. Each pair has a function. He needed one pair of water shoes for the river in his beloved Blue Ridge or another type entirely for salt-water kayaking off the coast of Florida. He had an earring and a pony tail and he wore derby hats and porkpie caps. Somehow, he pulled it off and put it together in a way that was functional and fashionable. Doug was secure in his place and role in the world around him. He did that in a way few do. He will be missed. Survivors include his wife, the former Jennifer Lynn Fowler, to whom he was married September 7, 1974; 2 sons, Matthew Raymond Ballantine and Andrew Ballantine, and his wife, Courtney, all of Rome; 3 grandsons, Nathan, Zach, and Evan Ballantine; his father, Allister Raymond Ballantine, Floral City, FL; a brother, Mark Ballantine, and his wife, Holly, Hiram; a sister, Ms. Norine Ouellette, Manchester, CT; his mother-in-law, Mrs. Katherine Fowler, Rome; a brother-in-law, Ed Fowler, Jr., and his wife, Trisha, Anniston, AL; two aunts, Mrs. Sharron Thornton, Bushnell, FL and Miss Dorothy Dillard, Ocala, FL; several nieces, nephews, and cousins also survive. |
