Emilie Ballard

Emilie Margaret Ballard (July 21, 1919 – September 22, 2024) was an American Baptist missionary to the Karen who served in Burma and Thailand.

Early life and education Emilie Margaret Ballard was born in Hyattsville, Maryland on July 21, 1919. She pursued a Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the University of Maryland, responding to the needs of World War II by serving in the United States Army Nurse Corps. Following her service, she enrolled at Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary, where she earned a Master of Religious Education with a focus on missions. During a furlough after leaving Burma in 1966, she furthered her theological education with a term at Fuller Theological Seminary.

After retiring in 1989 and completing a year of deputation, she returned to Thailand for three more years at the Mission's request, to the Sangkla Christian Mission (later called the Kwai River Christian Mission) in Kanchanaburi Province. During this time, she developed language lessons to assist new missionaries in learning the S'gaw Karen language, including the three-volume textbook series "Say it in Karen" (books I–III) and "Introduction to Say it in Karen: How to read and write Sgaw Karen".