Myrtle Elizabeth Kimbell Ballenger, 94, passed away Thursday, September 15, 2016, at Trinity Healthcare, Columbus, MS.

Services will be held at a later date. Arrangements have been entrusted to Lowndes Funeral Home, Columbus, MS.

Myrtle  was born on August 4, 1922, to the late Gordon Blackmon Kimbell and Elsie Earle Self Kimbell, in the Oktoc Community of Oktibbeha County. She graduated from Starkville High School in 1940 and studied at Mississippi State College for two years. After working in several states, she settled in El Paso, TX, where she lived for sixty-eight years. For thirty years she worked as a Steno/Clerk for the Southern Pacific Railroad. In 2011, Myrtle moved to Trinity Place in Columbus and was very happy in her apartment there. Two years later she moved to Trinity Healthcare.

Active in Grace United Methodist Church in El Paso, Myrtle was a member of United Methodist Women and Young at Heart. She helped organize and was the first president of Friends of the Lower Valley Library, now Friends of the Judge Marquez Library. She was a member of the National Association of Retired & Veteran Railway Employees and served as president of the El Paso chapter of AARP.

Myrtle loved working in her flower beds and delighted in sharing the jellies and preserves made from fruit picked from her trees. She had a soft heart for cats and dogs, especially those with no home. Bowling was favorite pastime she shared with friends, both in El Paso and in regional tournaments. Myrtle liked to travel, whether it was in a motor home with her sister, Edna, and brother-in-law, Tommy, or on cruises to faraway places. Books were a big part of her life, either collecting money at the library book sales or reading her romance novels. Friends, especially those without transportation, could call Myrtle for help with shopping and doctors' appointments. While at Trinity, her greatest joy was watching the birds, especially the hummingbirds, at the feeders outside her window. In addition to her parents, she is preceded in death by her brother-William Rufus Kimbell; sister-in-law-Morella Kimball; brother-in-law-T. L. Wilkerson.

Ms. Ballenger is survived by sisters-Edna Earle Wilkerson, Lafayette, LA and Elsie Lee (Lawrence) Croft, Starkville, MS; brother-Gordon B. Kimbell, Tyler, TX; and a host of nieces and nephews.

Memorials may be made to Friends of the Judge Marquez Library, 610 N. Yarbrough Drive, El Paso, Texas 79915; Methodist Senior Services, Sunday Fund, P. O. Box 1567, Tupelo, MS 38802; or to a charity of the donor's choice.

Myrtle's family wishes to thank the staff of Trinity Healthcare, especially the nurses and aides, who took such good care of her. They were her "family" for over three years.