Chris Ball Obituary, In Loving Memory Of Chris Ball

Chris Ball Obituary, Death – We are deeply saddened to inform you of the passing of the renowned Chris Ball in the United Kingdom. Chris was a kind and well-liked Angler who was well-known for his passion for and knowledge of the sport’s history. He will be deeply missed by numerous individuals. Putting in a great deal of time and effort for the US Carp Anglers, he personally assisted us all here at The American Carp Society when we first introduced the website with the entire history of the UK working closely with Wayne and sending us some never-before-published photographs. Chris, God Bless you and rest in peace.

Chris’s passion for aviation was evident to his parents. To the point where Chris’s father had no choice but to drive him to Carman to meet Bob Diemert when he was 18 years old. Chris HAD to meet Bob because he was quickly becoming the first of what are now known as “Warbird Savers” by restoring the Japanese Val dive bomber to flight condition. This began a 49-year-long collaborative relationship. The value of Chris’s interest in aircraft avionics and instrumentation will be demonstrated. Bob and Chris went on to reconstruct and restore additional warbirds, including a Hawker Hurricane and a P-40F, in addition to the Val. Chris paid close attention to the instrument panels of novel aircraft designs such as the Defender and the WIG.

Chris possessed innate knowledge and expertise regarding aircraft avionics and instrumentation. However, it was expanded through three distinct employment opportunities he pursued in his early adulthood. He served in the RCAF for roughly five years and was initially stationed in Germany as a communications specialist. His responsibilities included ensuring that all Lockheed F-104 Starfighter aircraft’ instruments were fully operational. He subsequently returned to Winnipeg, where he served with the City of Winnipeg 404 Squadron. Similar responsibilities were assigned to him while he worked on the fleet of Douglas DC-3s and de Havilland twin Otters.

Chris worked as an Instrument and Radio technician for Bristol Aerospace in Winnipeg for three years after being discharged from the military. There, he overhauled each and every instrument on the McDonnell F-101 Voodoo aircraft. Afterwards, he worked at Standard Aero to refurbish magnetos for civilian aircraft. However, Chris would return to Friendship Field in Carman permanently in the late 1980s and early 1990s.