This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A NATO general told a story at an annual meeting of the Salt Lake Chamber in the mid-1970s about his visit to Utah several years before. The one thing he remembered, he said, was the great Snelgrove ice cream.
That moved the chamber's then-board chairman, Wendell Ashton, to tell the general he would arrange to have 100 gallons of the treat delivered to his home in Belgium.
"What?" Chamber boss Fred Ball mouthed to his young aide, Randy Horiuchi. "How are we going to ship 100 gallons of ice cream to Belgium? What is his wife going to think about having 100 gallons of ice cream delivered to her front porch?"
But they pulled it off, recalled Horiuchi, who later became a Salt Lake County commissioner and council member. "It was what Fred always did. He pulled it off."
Ball, who led the chamber for 25 years and was a fixture in the downtown community for decades, died Tuesday at age 82.
During the three years Horiuchi worked for the chamber as communications director and lobbyist, Ball protected him against powerful members who wanted him fired.
"They were all Republicans, and I was a Democrat," Horiuchi said. "But Fred always managed to cheer them up and keep me under the radar."
During Ball's chamber stewardship from 1970 to 1995, he helped pave the way for the coming of the Utah Jazz, develop the city's airport into a major hub and fan the flame that eventually led to the capital landing the 2002 Winter Olympics.
He was honored by the chamber with its "Giant in Our City" award in 1995 and was commonly referred to as "Mr. Utah."
Just like his protection of Horiuchi, the Democratic pup in a lions' den of Republicans, Ball eased the plight of then-newly elected Salt Lake City Mayor Ted Wilson in 1975.
"I had a lot of help in my election from organized labor," Wilson remembered. "And I was a labor guy. But the chamber was made up of business people and they looked at me with suspicion."
Ball assured his chamber associates that Wilson was OK and the new mayor was accepted. During the next 10 years, Wilson added, he and Ball formed a partnership that propelled the city.
Ball was not only a giant in Salt Lake City and Utah, said current Salt Lake Chamber President Lane Beattie, but was also a legend in chambers of commerce throughout the world.
His international presence and the way he charmed delegations was one reason Salt Lake City's reputation grew globally as a place that could stage the Olympics, Beattie said. "I remember being so impressed when I went to Japan. Fred was idolized in Japan."
After he retired from the chamber, Ball became a senior vice president at Zions Bank, where he produced a daily radio segment, sponsored by Zions, called "Speaking on Business." It featured a different small business in Utah each day.
"He was meticulous," Zions CEO Scott Anderson said, "in the way he would go to the business, spend time with the owners and patrons and put together the script highlighting that business, its history, personality and its products."
Ball did that every day for 15 years, Anderson said. And his segments on radio stations throughout Utah and Idaho would bring those businesses new patrons and help them grow.
"He was a great champion for small businesses," Anderson said.
Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker and developer Kem Gardner echoed the sentiments about Ball's larger-than-life personality and his ability to light up a room.
"He was always so positive," Becker said. "And he was always looking for ways to improve Salt Lake City and its economic environment."
Said Gardner: "He spoke all over the country extolling the benefits of Salt Lake City and Utah. He was one of the best spokesmen this state ever had."
Ball served on more than 40 corporate and community boards during his career and received many awards.
Before joining the chamber, he spent 21 years as an executive with IML Freight.
Born in Ogden in 1932, Ball went on to graduate from then-Weber State College, where he was student-body president, and earned additional degrees at the University of Utah and the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
He met the love of his life, Joyce Worsencroft, on an elevator at the old ZCMI department store, according to his children. They married July 2, 1953, in the Salt Lake LDS Temple and spent the next 62-plus years together as best friends.
He is survived by his wife, four daughters, 15 grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and a sister.
In his final moments Tuesday, surrounded by his family, according to daughter Kristine Dibblee, he said, "I've died the way I lived — with a smile on my face."
Funeral services will be Monday at noon in the Wilford LDS Stake Center, 3080 S. 1765 East. A visitation will be held at Larkin Sunset Lawn, 2350 E. 1300 South, Sunday from 6 to 8 p.m.