Donald Ballman, Former Dow Chief, Arts Patron, Dies

Donald K. Ballman, a former Dow Chemical executive, arts patron and longtime La Jolla resident, died Wednesday at his daughter’s home in Hinsdale, Ill. He was 79.

Before his retirement from Dow Chemical Co. in 1973, Ballman’s life had been dedicated almost completely to the company.

“To be honest, his hobby was his business,” said Robert L. Keyser III, Ballman’s son-in-law. “He was committed to Dow.”

Ballman joined Dow Chemical as a sales trainee and rose to senior executive vice president and the board of directors during his 36-year career with the company.

He organized and managed the technical service and development departments, and he established Dow’s marketing research department, which introduced Saran Wrap, the company’s first consumer product, in 1953.

After he moved to La Jolla in 1973 from Midland, Mich., with his wife, Elizabeth, he became a world traveler and a patron of the La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art. He was president and a trustee of the museum, treasurer and a board member for the Scripps Clinic & Research Foundation and a member of the La Jolla Rotary Club.

“He was a born leader, but he also had a very artistic, sensitive side,” said Hugh Davies, director of the La Jolla museum.

Ed Marston, a friend of Ballman’s for more than 15 years, said, “He was a smart cookie. I think he was quite a financial man. He always followed the blue-chip companies. He was never for this fly-by-night stuff.”

Ballman was born in Indiana in 1910, and he received bachelor and master of science degrees in chemistry from Indiana University, which he entered at age 15.

Ballman’s wife died in February. He is survived by his daughter, Brenda Ballman Keyser, and his grandchildren, Elise and Hanni Keyser. The family has asked that any contributions be made in his memory to the Ballman Building Fund at the museum.