Ottis G. Ball
In a monumental act of generosity, Jackson resident Dr. Ottis G. Ball recently made a $1 million donation to Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. Ball, who grew up in Lyman and attended what was then Perkinston Agricultural High School and later Perkinston Junior College, was also a member of the first freshman class at The University of Mississippi’s School of Medicine in 1958.
“Perkinston is really where I got my start,” Ball said. “At that time, I had just injured my knee playing football. After that, I started studying and doing well in school. The first thing I knew, I was making good grades, and I got involved in lots of extracurricular activities. I figured that if I wasn’t going to play sports, maybe I could do something else. The folks at Perk helped me make the transition from athlete to student.”
Ball went on to serve two years in the U.S. Army before returning to serve as a resident at The University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMC). He then worked in Indiana before coming back to Mississippi to work in Tupelo, and then back to Jackson where he worked at Baptist Medical Center for 32 years in Radiology. While at Baptist, Ball was one of the founders of the Radiology Group, was active in nuclear medicine, and helped to establish the Mississippi chapter of the Society of Nuclear Medicine.
“This is the largest cash gift in the history of Gulf Coast,” said Jere Hess, Gulf Coast associate vice president for Development. “It comes at a time of increasing costs for students to attend college. The generosity exhibited by Dr. Ball and his lovely wife, Dixie, is a great example of the type of people they truly are. His gift is a result of his estate planning, which we encourage all of our alumni and friends of the college to consider when updating their wills.”
Half of the $1 million will go toward the construction of a bell tower and carillon at the Perk Campus, while the rest of the money will go toward the MGCCC Foundation and student scholarships.
“Dr. Ottis G. Ball's donation to the Gulf Coast Foundation will enable the college to further implement the college's Master Plan by placing the bell tower on the Perkinston Campus,” said Dr. Willis Lott, Gulf Coast president. “It will also enhance assistance to students who choose to attend Gulf Coast through scholarships.”
“I wanted this to be something to help some of the less fortunate students, and help the college,” said Ball, who has been married to Dixie for 50 years. They have three sons and 13 grandchildren. “I’m really impressed with the changes at the campus. It’s grown so much since I was there.”
In 2007, he retired and became an author. His latest book, “Along Came Frog,” is a semi-autobiographical account of his days as a young boy growing up on the Coast.
“I worked on the book on and off for about 10 years,” he said. “When I was at Perk, I became good friends with Fred Haise. We roomed across the hall from each other. Fred was editor of the school paper, and he got me interested in that.”
