In Memory of
Colonel Frances Gasson Ballentine, Dec 6, 1922 – November 9, 2017
Col Frances Gasson Ballentine, USAF, Ret., 94, of Wassamassaw, SC, died November 9, 2017 at the Village at Summerville, South Carolina. Internment was in the Wassamassaw Baptist Church Cemetery, Wassamassaw, SC. Born in Athol, Massachusettes, Col Frances Gasson Ballentine began military service as a US Army dietitian on 20 July 1945, just one month before World War II ended. When the Air Force Medical Service was established in 1949, then 1Lt Gasson was one of the thirty-eight (38) Army dietitians who voluntarily transferred to the fledgling US Air Force. Col Ballentine had an illustrious career, 1945-1970, serving as Associate Chief for Dietetics and Nutrition, Deputy Chief, and then Chief, Biomedical Sciences Corps. In retirement, Col Ballentine was a founding member of our Air Force Dietetics Association formerly called the Retired Air Force Dietitians Association (RAFDA). A history buff and encyclopedic source of information on the development of AF dietetics, she authored the 1996 RAFDA publication, Recollections of World War II – Air Force Dietitians in the War Years 1941-1945; and served as inspiration and encouragement to Col Jean Chambers and Col Marilyn Walker who published the book: 50 Years of Air Force Dietetics – 1949-1999.
Rest in Peace, Col Ballentine.
Read more of Col Ballentine’s story at http://afdietitians.org/Col-Frances-G.Ballentine
