Crystal Ballard, age 34, of Moorhead, MN and formerly of Fosston, MN, passed away on Wednesday, February 18th, at Sanford Medical Center in Fargo, ND. A celebration of Crystal’s life will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 28th, at the Carlin Funeral Home in Fosston with Pastor Tyler Stynsberg officiating. Family will greet friends for one hour prior to the service on Saturday (28th) at the funeral home. Arrangements are pending with Carlin Family Funeral Service of Fosston and messages of condolence may be shared at www.carlinfuneral.com. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to the Pennington County Humane Society.

Our special angel, Crystal Joy Ballard, went to heaven on February 18, 2026. She is the daughter of Deb Ballard. She graduated from Fosston High School and went to the University of Minnesota to study to become a veterinarian. She loved to cook, had a love of music and dance. She won many awards for her creative art. Crystal had a special passion for all animals, both large and small. She literally would not kill a fly but rather catch it and set it free. She found great joy in working with the elderly. Crystal’s love for life and her ray of sunshine will live on in those she loved and touched. She will be greatly missed by all those who met her. God took her hand and led her through the heavenly gates where her pain and suffering is no more.

Crystal Joy is survived by her mother, Deb Ballard; brothers, John Ballard, Joey (Chelsey) Ballard, Josh Ballard, Jeremy Brill, and Michael Van Slyke; sisters, Jennifer Korinta, Jenny Hoffman, and Sherry VanSlyke; aunt, Nancy Larsen; uncle, Alton Paulson; and Marlene VanSlyke (biological mother); and lots of nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her grandmothers, Hazel Westfall and Marella Paulson; grandfathers, Earl Westfall and Al Paulson; and Michael VanSlyke (biological father).