HATTIESBURG — Kathryn Elizabeth Tennis Ballard Eaton died Wednesday, June 27, 2012, in Hattiesburg. She was 84.

Ms. Eaton was born May 27, 1928, in Cushing, Okla. She graduated as a registered dental hygienist from Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., and moved with her first husband to Vicksburg. She was a member of the Evergreen Garden Club and Vicksburg Historical Society and was elected Mother of the Year for Mississippi in 1970.

She served as a Vicksburg National Military Park guide and led tours of Anchuca antebellum home. She was a gardener.

In 1984, Ms. Eaton moved to Hattiesburg, where she assisted with her daughter’s dental practice and was a member of the Lions Club and the USM Golden Girls.

She attended and held offices at Crawford Street Methodist Church of Vicksburg, Central Christian Church of Hattiesburg and Petal United Methodist Church.

She was preceded in death by her husbands, Paul Ballard Sr. in 1977 and Loren Eaton in 2001.

She is survived by one son, Dr. Paul Ballard; three daughters, Dr. Barbara Mauldin, Tamela Grant and Pamela Sellers; seven grandchildren; and one great-grandson.

Services will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Hulett-Winstead Funeral Home, 205 Bay St. in Hattiesburg. Burial will be at 3:30 p.m. Friday at Cedar Hill Cemetery with the Rev. Mitch Cochran officiating. Visitation will be at the funeral home from 9:30 a.m. Friday until the service.

Memorials may be made to the Rotary Foundation or Vicksburg Theatre Guild.