Thursday, February 12, 2026 10:27 am

On Sunday, February 1, 2026, Montrose Meacham Ballard passed away at Atrium Health in Shelby, surrounded by her family. The family will receive friends at Cecil M. Burton Funeral Home from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM on Friday, February 6, 2026. A graveside service will be held at 11:00 AM Saturday, February 7, 2026 at Sunset Cemetery in Shelby officiated by Rev. Perry Holleman.

Born in Shelby, NC, on August 3, 1943, Montrose Pallen was the daughter of Montrose Mull Meacham and Earl Holleman Meacham. She was a 1961 graduate of Shelby High School, where she was head majorette with the Shelby High Band for three years and a champion baton twirler in regional competitions throughout the South. She was a 1965 graduate of Wake Forest University. While at Wake Forest, she was a majorette with the Demon Deacon Marching Band, where she met the bass drummer, Lacy Ballard, the love of her life. They married on June 12, 1965, three days after graduation. They marched together again with the Alumni Band in 2004.

After living in High Point, NC, for two years, she and her husband returned to Shelby, where she was active in the Junior Charity League, serving as League President in 1981 and President of the League Sustaining Members in 1989. She was chairman of many League fundraising projects, including the Debutante Ball, Tour of Homes, and The Decorator House. She especially enjoyed being a dancer in the Junior League Follies at age 31 and again at age 46.


Montrose was a member of the Benjamin Cleveland Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution for over 50 years, where she served as Regent from 1995 to 2001 and as Chaplain for many years. She was selected as the DAR Outstanding Junior Member in 1970 and served as Chairman of the State Good Citizens Committee. She was a Page at several State Conventions and at the National DAR Convention in Washington, DC.


She was a member of the Board of Advisors for Gardner-Webb University and served on the boards of The United Way and The Shelter Home of Shelby. She was a licensed North Carolina real estate broker. She was a lifelong member of First Baptist Church and currently a member of the Joy Sunday School Class. She was a founding member of the Omnibus Forum Book Club in 1972 and a member of the 20th Century Book Club.

She and Lacy were married for sixty-one years and have two children: Montrose Rebecca (Becky) Higgins, married to retired Colonel Ralph Grady (Trip) Higgins III of Shelby, and Lacy Henry (Hank) Ballard III, married to Christine Cullum Ballard. She is also survived by one grandson, Lacy Henry (Hank) Ballard IV of Winston-Salem, NC, and Clemson University, and by her brother, Otis Mull Meacham of Lake Norman.


Montrose requested that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the George Byrd Sunday School Class at First Baptist Church, 120 North Lafayette Street, Shelby, NC 28150.


Online condolences may be made at www.cecilmburtonfuneralhome.com.

Cecil M. Burton Funeral Home & Crematory is honored to serve the family.