Nicholas Charles Ballis, 75, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Brookings SD.
A visitation will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Eidsness Funeral Home in Brookings, SD on Saturday, April 12.
Nicholas Charles Ballis was born on Jan. 5, 1950, in St. Paul, Minnesota to Francis and LaVerne (Anderson) Ballis. He grew up in Roseville, Minnesota, next to McCarrons Lake and graduated from Kellogg High School receiving an apprenticeship in carpentry. Nick served in the National Guard from 1968-1974.
He met and married the love of his life Marlene “Micky” (Heinn) from St. Paul, Minnesota on April 11, 1970. They were married for 55 years. They lived in Brookings, SD, and raised four children, Jody, Dawn, Nick Jr and Justin. Nick began working at Spies Super Value which brought him to South Dakota and worked at the Brookings HyVee from 1974-1990. He continued to work in the flooring business for the next 25 years.
The idea is not to live forever, but to create something that will. Nick had the biggest and purest heart, always looking to find the best in someone and trying to help. As an avid outdoorsman who loved to hunt, Nick’s true passion was fishing. It didn’t matter if it was open water fishing or drilling a hole for ice fishing, he always had his next adventure planned and a willingness to share lots of pictures and fishing stories. When friends fished with him, they came away full of tales of fish caught. Inspired by his passion of fishing he was the innovator and active participant for over 70 years.
Nick is survived by his wife, Marlene “Micky” Ballis; daughters, Jody (Bill) Runge of Brookings and Dawn Donofrio of New York; sons Nick Jr (Lissa) of Iowa and Justin (Holly) of Brookings; thirteen grandchildren, Zach (Jessy) Runge, Katelynn (Luke) Warejcka, Anthony, Casey, Matthew, Kelly, Riley Donofrio, Christian (Tristin), Avery, Ryker Ballis, Brooklyn, Madison, and Jordyn Ballis; seven great-grandchildren, Camden, Marley, Elowyn, Livian, Liam, Charlee and Theo; siblings, Sandy (Joseph Lopez) Ballis of Tucson AZ, Tim (Cenia) Ballis of Pine City, MN; half-sister, Joanne (Ron) Dinger of Alexandria, MN; sister-in-law, RoxAnne Ballis of Pine City, MN; brothers-in-law, Donald Heinn of MN, John Jr (Sharon) Heinn of MN, David (Cindy) Heinn MN and Pat (Rita) Heinn of MN and his beloved pet companion “Addy.”
