Wednesday, December 29, 2021
DAVID JOHN BALLSTAEDT JR.
Salt Lake City, Utah
David John Ballstaedt Jr., 77, formerly of Mount Vernon, Iowa, died Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2021, in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Services were held Thursday, Dec. 30, in Cottonwood Heights, Utah.
David is survived by his children, Wendy, Marcy, Lara, Natasha, Courtney, David III, Joshua, Zachary, Cody, Noel and Reillie; brothers, Mark, Rock, Noel and Paul; and sister, Kathleen.
He was preceded in death by his parents, David John Ballstaedt Sr. and Helen Ballstaedt; and son, Jesse Taylor Ballstaedt.
David was born Nov. 5, 1944, to David and Helen Ballstaedt in Salt Lake City, Utah. David was a 1961 graduate of Olympus High School in Salt Lake City, Utah. Upon graduating, David, at age 17, moved with some friends to Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He had less than 100 dollars in his pocket. Upon arriving, David took a job at Wilson’s packing plant. He then worked briefly at Iowa Steel. He worked as a mechanic at Stevenson Ford briefly before opening his first Standard Station with a friend at age 20. Six months later he married Sheila Meikle. David owned this station, invested in real estate and ran a Standard Station on First Avenue and Park Court until 1978. Dave wanted to be in business with his brothers and moved the family back to Utah to build homes with his brothers.
Iowa and automobiles were his calling, however, and while vacationing back in Iowa in 1980 the Ford dealership had come up for sale. Dave put everything he had up and put a deal together, and from 1980 Dave owned and ran Dave Ballstaedt Ford in Mount Vernon. In 1983, Dave opened Mount Vernon Motor Coach, becoming one of the nation’s premier van conversion businesses. Dave would go on to acquire the Dyersville Ford dealership as well.
In 1994, Dave sold his businesses and spent the senior years of his life back where he began in Salt Lake City, Utah. Dave had a large family consisting of seven daughters and five sons. He was generous, and every Christmas for years he took on a family in need and gave them Christmas. He was a good friend to many, a race car driver to some, and a dad and a brother to many. He will be missed but his legacy lives on.
