John Ed Balentine (’39), Gainesville :: Born on a farm in what is now Trophy Club, he remembered riding his pony to first grade at the Demonstration School on campus. In Tracks of A Country Boy, he recounted stories of his youth, including riding freight trains from California back to Texas when he was 19. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II with an antiaircraft division in Australia, New Guinea, Morotai and Manila and worked for 40 years for Magnolia Petroleum Co., later Exxon Mobil Corp. He and his wife moved to a farm in Gainesville in 1959, where he enjoyed trail rides and was active in the Cooke County Heritage Society and Antique Farm Equipment Club and was a member of the First United Methodist Church for more than 40 years. He rode horses until he was in his mid 80s. In 2008, he sold his farm and moved to Waco, where he spent time with great-grandchildren.
John Ed Balentine (’39), Gainesville :: Born on a farm in what is now Trophy Club, he remembered riding his pony to first grade at the Demonstration School on campus. In Tracks of A Country Boy, he recounted stories of his youth, including riding freight trains from California back to Texas when he was 19. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II with an antiaircraft division in Australia, New Guinea, Morotai and Manila and worked for 40 years for Magnolia Petroleum Co., later Exxon Mobil Corp. He and his wife moved to a farm in Gainesville in 1959, where he enjoyed trail rides and was active in the Cooke County Heritage Society and Antique Farm Equipment Club and was a member of the First United Methodist Church for more than 40 years. He rode horses until he was in his mid 80s. In 2008, he sold his farm and moved to Waco, where he spent time with great-grandchildren.
