David Stephen Ballantine

David Stephen Ballantine   Born on the feast of Saint Stephen 1922, David Stephen Ballantine, went to his heavenly home, although he was in no hurry to get there, on May 8, 2016.   Himself was born in New York City as a first generation American, his father, Lawrence, from County Sligo and his mother, Lillian, from County Cork.  He grew up in the Bronx where he met, courted, and wed his wife of 66 years, Agnes Lillis Ballantine.   Along the way, he graduated from St. Simon Stock High School and St. Francis College in Brooklyn.  He was a graduate student at MIT when World War II broke out.  He withdrew from MIT and worked on the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.  After the war, he obtained his PhD in Radiation Chemistry at the University of Notre Dame.   After working in private industry for almost 20 years, he went to work for the Atomic Energy Commission in 1967, retiring from its successor, The Department of Energy, in 1987.   His jobs involved a lot of international travel.  He spent a year living with his family in England in 1961-62.  By the time he retired, he had visited 5 continents and over 30 countries.  His favorite was his ancestral home of Ireland which he visited numerous times.   David was a long time active member of St. John, the Evangelist Church in Frederick which he joined in 1967 after moving to Frederick County.  He served as President of the Parish Council and the St. Vincent de Paul Society.  He also served as President of the Frederick County Right to Life and on the Frederick County Department of Social Services Board of Directors.   David and his wife, Agnes, were famous for their graciousness and hospitality.  Their home was host to numerous dinners for new members of the St. John Parish, Mount St. Mary’s seminarians, many St. Patrick’s Day dinners and sing-alongs, and Boxer’s Day birthday bashes.   Preceded in death by his brothers, Jack and Patrick, and his sister, Mary, he is survived by seven children, twenty grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren, as well as numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins in Ireland and Wales and a sister-in-law, Maureen Ballantine. In heaven, he is greeted by his grandsons, Adam Pfahler and Keven Ballantine, and great-granddaughter, Hannah Grace.   An Irish wake will be celebrated at the Keeney & Basford Funeral Home, 106 E. Church Street, Frederick, Maryland on Thursday, May 19, 2016, from 1-3 p.m. and 5-7 p.m. Mass of the Resurrection will be celebrated Friday, May 20, 2016, at 11:00 a.m. at Saint John’s Catholic Church in Frederick, Maryland. Interment will follow immediately after the Mass at St. John’s Cemetery on  East Third St. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Maryland Right to Life, 420 Chinquapin Round Rd. Suite 2-I, Annapolis, MD 21401.