John M. Ballbach, Sr., age 75 of Gresham, passed away unexpectedly on Thursday, January 15, 2015 from injuries sustained in a car accident. John was born on January 12, 1940 in Port Washington, the son of the late George and Mildred (Reiter) Ballbach. On November 3, 1961 John and Rae C. George took a 1957 Corvette to Iowa and were united in marriage. Together they raised 7 children. In 1989, John and Rae moved to the Shawano area. John was a very outgoing person who loved to talk and was known to many as "Farmer John the Bee Man". He was a member of St. Peters UCC in Saukville, enjoyed cutting firewood and fishing, but calling John a hard worker is an understatement, the only thing he liked better than working was talking. He was a wonderful husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend and will be deeply missed by all who knew him. John is survived by his wife of 53 years, Rae, 7 children, Linda (Bruno, Sr.) Primas, Fred (Mariann) Ballbach, Robin Ballbach, James Ballbach, John (Lorraine) Ballbach, Jr., George Ballbach and Jeff Ballbach, 15 grandchildren, Bruno (Janet) Primas, Jr., Rae Ann Ballbach, William Ballbach, Paul Ballbach, Ian Larsen, Victor Larsen, Alia Larsen, Erin Ballbach, Dan Ballbach, Jessica (Ryan) Walvoord, Marissa (Scott) Cowling, Zachary Carr Ballbach, Jennifer Ballbach, Amanda Ballbach, Devin Gerk and numerous great-grandchildren. He is further survived by his brothers and sisters, William Ballbach, Michael Ballbach, Eugene Ballbach, Louise Sherf, Lenora Ebert, Ann Murawski, Georgene Wulff and Sherry Ballbach as well as numerous nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends. John was preceded in death by his parents. A funeral service to honor John's life will be held at 2:00 pm on Saturday, January 24, 2015 at the Swedberg Funeral Home in Shawano. Visitation will be at the funeral home on Saturday from 11:00 am until the time of the service.