Ethan F. Ball Jr.

Ball, Ethan Frank Jr., 95, passed on February 16, 2026, at Foulkeways at Gwynedd. Ethan was born on January 18, 1931, in Pittsburgh, PA, to the late Ethan Frank Ball and Mildred Louise (Coyle) Ball, and was raised in Bethlehem, PA.  Beloved husband of over 63 years to the late May Belle (Huber) Ball, whom he met through the Trinity Club at the Church of the Holy Trinity, Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia. They were married on August 18, 1956, at St. John’s the Evangelist Church in Lansdowne and moved to East Falls. In 1959, they moved to Flourtown, where they raised their children, Ethan Frank Ball III, Stephen (J.J.) Ball, and Mary (Stephen) Wietecha. He will be missed by his three granddaughters, Kyleigh Ball, Maureen Wietecha and her fiancé William Erickson, and Shannon Wietecha (Brian) Kniezewski, along with one great-granddaughter, Sadie May Belle Kniezewski. Ethan was predeceased by his sister, Mildred Beece, and her husband Pat. He leaves behind many nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews.

Ethan graduated from Swarthmore College in 1953, where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. He then attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he completed all but his thesis towards his Master’s of Science in Engineering Degree.

After college, Ethan worked as an electrical engineer at Philco, designing radar systems used in airplanes. In 1963, he moved to Dynasciences, working on the Dynalens, an image stabilizer, which won a Scientific/Technical Academy Award in 1969 for its contribution to filmmaking. Ethan made an emergency delivery of a Dynalens to the inauguration of Richard Nixon and supervised its use on the shared network camera. He was also involved with early ultra-compact video switchers, image enhancement technology, signal stability, and color timing. Some of the technology he worked on is still used today, miniaturized and incorporated into digital video cameras. It also led the way for today’s sophisticated software integrated systems, including instant replay.

From 1975 to 1977, Ethan, along with his friend, Joe Foulk, started CAVE, Custom Audio Video Equipment, where they worked on video signal processors to adjust and correct color for different lighting conditions. Ethan was in charge of the circuit design and testing.

He then went to work at Fraser-Volpe, where he continued working with gyroscopes and stabilized optics on their Stedi-Eye product line, used by the military, law enforcement, and the marine industry. He also designed and built quality control equipment using laser scanning technology. Another project he worked on used lasers mounted on F-111 planes to give a steady guide for bombs.

He was a devoted family man and a Cub Scout leader for the boys. Ethan and Frank built the family’s first color television from a Heathkit on the dining room table. Ethan also loved music. He and May Belle had season tickets to the Philadelphia Orchestra for many years, and there was always classical music playing in their home. At college, he was involved with the radio station. He dusted off his coronet each Advent to play with the Royal Academy of St. Thomas Church.

Ethan liked traveling. There were family vacations all over the country, and together they visited most of the United States. He traveled to Korea for work, and later, he and May Belle cruised to Alaska, traveled to England and Ireland, and took the train across Canada—always documenting the journeys with his camera.

After retiring, Ethan enjoyed gardening, volunteering, going to the Arden Theater, and spending time with his growing family. Some of his volunteering included tutoring at both St. Gabriel’s Church in the Feltonville section of Philadelphia and Graterford Prison to help students pass the math section of the GED. Additionally, he worked with Habitat for Humanity and picked up food for Philabundance. He volunteered with Team Children, using his computer skills to refurbish donated computers and accessories and get them ready for students who did not have access to technology. He was extremely intelligent and compassionate, and gave freely of his time and resources to help others. His actions spoke for his values as he worked tirelessly for the causes he believed in.

Friends and family are encouraged to attend Ethan’s memorial service on Thursday, April 9, 2026, at St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields, 8000 St. Martin’s Lane, Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia. Calling hour at 10 a.m. with the memorial service following at 11 a.m. For those who can’t join us in person, please join us online at  www.stmartinec.org/live . In lieu of flowers, contributions in Ethan’s name may be made to Team Children, 1017 W 9th Ave, Suite B, King of Prussia, PA 19406; TeamChildren.org