Leonard Anthony Ball

Leonard Anthony Ball, age 55, flew west on September 2, 2014. Len was born and raised in the San Jose area where he attended Lynbrook High School and commenced his career in high tech manufacturing. He had extremely high natural mechanical ability, was an accomplished machinist, welder and mechanic, and was proficient in dozens of specialized computer applications. When San Jose became too congested for him, Len moved to Santa Rosa, where he met and married his wife, Nina. When Santa Rosa became too congested for the two of them, they took the three dogs they had adopted and the cat that adopted and clung to Len and moved to beautiful Siskiyou County. There Len took up vegetable gardening and chicken husbandry, becoming somewhat of an expert in both in short order. Len loved to build, drive, fly and fix things that go, including vintage Porsches, motorcycles and airplanes. He raced motorcycles in his youth and participated in aerobatic competitions and demonstrations with his radio-controlled aircraft. His passion for things RC continued until the end. He obtained his private pilot certificate later in life and may have truly found his ultimate life’s passion in that. Len was an executive board member of the Sonoma County Fourth of July Celebration for seven years, an active member of the NorCal Golden Retriever Rescue Organization (having fostered, he said, hundreds of dogs), a lifetime member of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), and a member of the Experimental Aircraft Association. Len is survived by his wife Nina, his brother David, and nephews Anthony and Parker. A viewing will be held on Monday, September 8, 2014 from noon until 4 pm at Girdner Funeral Chapel, 202 S. Oregon St., Yreka, CA. Online condolences may be made at www.girdnerfuneralchapel.com. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to any of the following charitable organizations in his honor: NORCAL Golden Retriever Rescue 405 El Camino Real, Suite 420 Menlo Park, CA 94025-5240 650-615-6810 http://www.ngrr.org/donate/index.php Rescue Ranch Inc. 2216 Oberlin Rd. PO Box 1192 Yreka, CA 96097 (530) 842-0829 http://www.rrdog.org/donate.html Pilots N Paws (Non Profit name: www Pilotsnpaws Org Incorporated) 4651 Howe Road Landrum, SC 29356 tax ID #26-3754228 http://www.pilotsnpaws.org/donate/ Private pilot friends of Len are requested to fly an animal rescue mission in his honor. Go to: http://www.pilotsnpaws.org/ http://luckydogrescueflights.org/pilots.php http://www.wingsofrescue.org/ http://freedomtraintransports.com/ http://www.flyingpaws.org/ http://www.animalrescueflights.org/ http://animalrescuetransfersystem.org/ http://www.aarf-rescue.com/

Leonard Anthony Ball

February 23, 1959 - September 2, 2014