Kathie Ballin

Kathie Ann Ballin (née Haakenson)

“Haakie” | June 15, 1952 – June 20, 2025 | Age 73

Kathie Ann Ballin, affectionately known as “Haakie,” passed away on Friday, June 20, 2025, wrapped in the love of family and friends. If you asked Kathie herself, she would insist she left this world in her beloved New York City—but in true Haakie fashion she was actually soaking up the Florida sunshine in Boca Raton when she took her final bow.

Born and raised in Bird Island, Minnesota, Kathie never lost her Midwestern warmth, even as her adventurous spirit drew her afar. After one year at college in Minnesota she traded snow for palm trees, transferring to Azusa Pacific University in California and earning a degree in education. A few years later New York City called, and Kathie answered—landing a position as a photo editor at Ladies’ Home Journal. Manhattan quickly became her second home, the place where she met the love of her life, Joe Ballin, and welcomed two daughters, Joey Chanel and Abby Montana.

Kathie and Joe criss-crossed the globe together—so many countries that even she lost count—living out her lifelong motto: “T.M.F.—Too Much Fun!” Whether she was dancing in a tiny café in Paris, jumping off the cliff at Il San Pietro di Positano, teaching her daughters how to hail a cab on Fifth Avenue, or laughing with childhood friends at the lake at Kandiyohi, Kathie lit every room with her beauty, razor-sharp wit, and one-of-a-kind spirit. Her generosity, boundless empathy, and knack for turning strangers into friends are the qualities her loved ones will forever cherish.

Kathie is survived by her husband, Joe Ballin; her daughters Abby Montana and Joey Chanel and her husband Tony Pedone; and sons Craig and Scott; her treasured grandchildren Andrew, Nicole, Sam, Chloe, Cayden, and Nico; her great-grandchildren Mila Blake and Luca Matthew; her sister Nancy and brother John; and her faithful doggy Gidget, who stayed by her side until the very end. She is predeceased by her parents and by many dear friends whom she is surely greeting with a dance and a laugh on the other side.

It is impossible to capture a soul as vibrant as Kathie’s in a few paragraphs. She was fearless, joyful, and utterly irreplaceable. Those who love her will hear her in every song, feel her in every warm breeze, and see her in every swooping bird.

Multiple celebrations of her life will be held; a formal memorial is planned for July 2025 in Bird Island, Minnesota, the hometown that always held her heart.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you honor Kathie by sharing a spontaneous act of kindness—or by doing something with “Too Much Fun” and thinking of her radiant smile. If you wish to donate to Cerebral Atherosclerosis research in honor of Kathie please visit the link below http://www.ninds.nih.gov