440 In Meinory He has told you, 0 man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? - Micah 6:8 In Memoriam Virginia Ballinger Virginia Lee "Ginny" Ballinger died in the early morning hours of December 4, 1979, at the age of 10, when her home burned , the fire apparently started by faulty electrical wiring in the attic. Ginny apparently suffocated from the smoke without awakening. Two older sisters, Cheryl and Debra, barely escaped while receiving severe burns. The youngest of the six children of Wilbur and Lora Ballinger , Ginny was born in Searcy on March 24, 1969 after the Ballingers had moved from California to place their older children in Harding Academy. In the spring of 1979, Ginny was badly injured in an automobile accident. Driving up Joy Mounta in with her father in a rain storm. they were involved in a head-on collision with a car coming down the mountain. Suffering extensive injuries which included multiple fractures of both legs, Ginny made remarkable recovery in a Little Rock hospital and was able to resume school activity as a fifth grader at Harding Academy when school began in August. Ginny had achieved an excellent academic record and enjoyed going to school. She was sensitive to the feelings of others, always wanting to help others . She was not cliquish and made a special effort to be a friend to newcomers . Before the automobile accident , she had been in a Brownie troop. She enjoyed swimming which was prescribed as therapy to strengthen her legs . She al so liked to ride her bicycle and to run with her dog. Bill Diles, principal of Harding Academy. commented , "Ginny was the leader of the class. She was always looking for someone to help. She wa s the first to befriend a new student, and she was the first to spot a classmate who needed a friend for any reason. She was truly a model child ." "'I' Bruce Gaither James Bruce Gaither, a junior from Conway, died in a Little Rock hospital on December 19, 1979, never regaining ~ . consciousness following a onecar accident near Conway on December 15. He ~pparently went to sleep while returning horne early Sunday morning and hit the abutment of a bridge. Bruce enrolled as a freshman the fall of 1976 after graduating from Conway High School , where he had been an honor student and an outstanding athlete in track. Born May 6, 1958 in Heber Springs, Bruce was 21 years old at the time of his death. Coholder of his high school's high jump record, he had participated in intercollegiate track at Harding while pursuing a management major. Looking forward to the 1980 track season, Bruce was determined to break his own record of 6-8. Bruce was also active in the work of his home congregation. University Track Coach Ted Lloyd commented, "Bruce really loved track and was an outstanding competitor. I have seen athletes with greater natural ability, but 1 have never seen an athlete who gave more of himself. He did his best when he was jumping against champions. He was an inspiration to his teammates. " Bruce's social club , Sub T , has established the Bruce Gaither Memorial Award which will be given annually to the member of the track team who is judged to be the most outstanding competitor that year. tw.\ Steve Hardin Twenty-seven~year old Stephen Turner Hardin died on his birthday, February IS , 1980, in a Memphis hospital following surgery for removal of a malignant tumor at the base of the brain. Steve was working as assistant preacher for the church in Senatobia, MiSSissippi and pursuing graduate study in the Harding Graduate School of Religion in Memt his. Doing a very effective work with the young people in Senatobia, he appeared to be in excellent health until only a few days prior to his death. He had begun to have dizzy spells, but his family doct.or could find no problem. He was referred to a neurosurgeon in Memphis who detected the tumor. Born in Birmingham, Alabama on February 15, 1953, he graduated from Thompson High School in Siluria, Alabama in the spring of 1971. He enrolled in the University of MiSSissippi that fall on a football scholarship and played three years for the Rebels. He then attended the University of Alabama in Birmingham for one year while his wife completed the baccalaureate degree in nursing. Enrolling in Harding as a senior in the summer of 1976 to prepare himself for full-time preaching, he graduated cum laude on May 14, 1978, with a BS in marketing and a BA in Bible. At Harding he was a member of Theta Alpha Gamma social dub , which he served two years as vice-president. He was active in tne Timothy Club and International Campaigns and was elected to Who's Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities. During the summer of 1978, he and his wife, Priscilla, who served two years as associate instructor in nursing, sponsored the campaign group to Adelaide, Australia. Priscilla and their 16-month old son , John , reside in Senatobia , where she teaches at Senatobia Junior College. f,;1" f I I I j
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