David Hughes Ballou

David Hughes Ballou was born January 15, 1960, in Glen Cove, New York, which is on the western end of the North Shore of Long Island. He died of complications of cancer at Emory University on August 18, 2026.

His father, an officer in the US Navy submarine service, was attending graduate school at Webb Institute in Glen Cove. David was the fourth of what would be five children born to Dennis and Jennie Ballou, who were both from Georgia. The family lived mostly on the East Coast, including Maine and New Hampshire, during Dennis' naval career. Dennis retired from the Navy in 1974 and moved the family to Athens, Georgia, where he entered law school. The same year, David started at Clarke Central High School.

He was a standout athlete from an early age in baseball, basketball, and football. In high school he was a competitive tennis player. He graduated in 1978, and was awarded a tennis scholarship to Young Harris College in North Georgia. He played competitively in college, including at the University of Georgia, to which he transferred in 1981. Upon graduation, he accepted a job in the sale of agricultural chemicals.

David continued to play competitive tennis. He learned guitar in the eighties and became a solid musician, writing and recording songs, creating three CDs. Some of his songs are still on Spotify and other platforms. He took up golf and became an avid player, and he especially enjoyed playing the nine-hole course at Candler Park in Atlanta, not far from where he lived in Decatur.

He had many friends, and although he never married, he always enjoyed time with his many companions, including his longtime girlfriend, Nan Loftis.

David is survived by his siblings, Elizabeth Ballou Gibbs, Robert Ballou, Richard Ballou, and Kathryn Ballou Breedlove.

He will be buried in Tallulah Falls, Georgia. There will be no service.