Eileen Marie Donovan Ballantyne

Eileen Marie Donovan Ballantyne was born December 27th 1964 and passed away peacefully on July 1st 2017. She was the fifth of six children born to Eileen and Gerald Donovan. Her family lived in Sterling Heights, Michigan, where her father served as the city's first mayor. Eileen loved telling her children stories about her childhood shenanigans.She would talk about how when she shared a bedroom with her older sister she would mess up the bed because she knew it would make her sister so angry or how her older brother would put buckets of water on the doorframe and call her into the room so the bucket would empty on her head. She would talk about how she and her siblings would have no-holds-bar battles in the car when her mother left them in the car to go shopping. She recalled caravaning across the country with her parents and little brother fondly, and loved telling people about all the places she had been as a child. Eileen always gave as good as she got and recalled her childhood with nostalgia and good humor. She graduated from Central Michigan University and became a first grade teacher in Detroit. She loved to tell stories about teaching first graders in a trailer in the parking lot because the school was overcrowded. Later in life, she changed career paths and began to work as a specialist in real estate for Weichert Realtors Excel. She loved her job and the people she met there became life long friends. Eileen met David Ballantyne, her husband, at Central Michigan University in 1989. They hit it off right away due to their common interests and shared values. They were best friends, life partners and soulmates. They married within two years of meeting each other and went on to have three children. Eileen was an enthusiastic volunteer for her children's school, St. Lawrence. She was an active member of St. Lawrence's PTA and was always ready to lend a hand at church or school. She never missed an chance to help out in the classroom or volunteer to chaperone a field trip. At every opportunity she impressed upon her children a love of learning and a desire to lend a helping hand whenever possible. She was her mom's best friend and shopping buddy. They spent hours at Kohl's and Costco together, buying Eileen's kids more clothing than they could ever wear and more food than anyone could ever eat. Little 'I" and Big 'I' hung out almost every day for thirty years. Eileen, her family and her parents spent almost every birthday, holiday, and most days in between together. Eileen made sure that her children had strong family relationships and great childhood memories. She was the glue of her family Eileen is survived by her loving husband of 26 years, David Ballantyne, her three children, Alana, Connor, and Jack, and her siblings, Jeryl Anne (Tim), Margaret (David), Patricia (Creighton), John (Maria), and James (Christina). She was a loving wife, devoted daughter, sassy sister, loyal friend, and an excellent mother. She will be missed tremendously by everyone that knew her. Visitation Thursday, July 6, 2:00-8:00 pm and Friday, July 7, 2:00-8:00 pm with a rosary at 7:00 pm at the Wm. Sullivan and Son Funeral Home, 8459 Hall Road (3 Blks E. of Van Dyke), Utica. In state Saturday, July 8, 9:30 am until time of Mass at 10:00 am at St. Lawrence Catholic Church, 44633 Utica Rd., Utica. Inurnment at St. Lawrence Catholic Cemetery. Memorial donations may be directed to St. Lawrence Catholic Church. Please share a memory at www.sullivanfuneraldirectors.com

Eileen Marie Donovan Ballantyne

December 27, 1964 - July 1, 2017