I can not believe I am about to write these words. My Mom, the incredible, hilarious, generous beyond words, intelligent, silly, supportive, strong, take no shit, Joey Todd Ballentine, went to Heaven on 02/12/2025. There was actually a big part of myself that believed it would never happen. And I sure as hell couldn’t believe it would happen now. This was not supposed to happen. The rage and pain I feel is honestly more than I realized a human being is capable of feeling. The truth is, the day it happened wasn’t the worst part, she was with me and Erich, and the hell she faced of the last four months was over. The worst part has been the days after, when reality of what I have lost slowly sets in.

In the past 2.5 weeks I feel like I have gotten to see the world for what it really is without my Mom: flat, greedy, humorous, cold, and most of all:empty. While most people are out for themselves and worry about things like what job title they have, how big their house is or how much they have in their bank account, my Mom would give her last dollar just to see you smile. She could make a joke about literally anything, and she loved animals (especially dogs) more than any person I’ve ever met. She ALWAYS spoke her mind, and defended me and what was right to no end. She lived life to the absolute fullest. I meet so many people who are afraid to take that trip, spend the money, tell someone how they feel, tell someone off, or even stand up for themselves. Not my Mom, rocking the boat and taking chances was never an issue.

She lived the most incredible life. She was born in Seattle, Washington on 08/17/1948 to Marjorie and John Todd. She has one younger sister, Putsy Todd. The fact that she lived through the 50’s, JFK’s assassination, the Civil Rights Movement and MLK’s assassination, was a literal flower child hippie, saw Janis Joplin and Elvis in person, disco in the 70s, was a Flight Attendant for North West Airlines for 39 years, and has been to Japan, China, Korea, Europe, Australia thousands of times(yes literally) always blew my mind. She met my Dad, William Ballentine in Hawaii in 1980(I believe) and they married in 1981. They lived in Grenwich Village in NYC until moving back to her home of Seattle, Washington, where I was born. In 1997 she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and was given a 40 percent chance of survival, she ended up having a mastectomy to help ensure she wouldn’t leave me, at 11 years old, alone. When i was endlessly bullied in school, she went right to the principal to put a stop to it. When I wanted to become an actor she moved with me to Los Angeles in 2000 and stayed with me there until 2008. She drove me to every audition, paid for acting classes, headshots and did everything in her power to make me, an awkward, struggling teenager feel good about myself. There were things she did for me, and sacrifices she made that I can only appreciate now, at 39 years old. When my Dad got sick not long after Erich got married she cared for him tirelessly until his death on 01/01/2023. She bought a beachfront condo in North Myrtle Beach in 2005 and has lived there permanently since 2014. Nothing gave her as much joy in her final years as waking up looking at the ocean at that condo. She supported me through miscarriages, fertility failures, bad friendships, devastating dog losses, horrible breakups and every other thing you could possibly think of. She was proud of me no matter what I did. I didn’t need to be anyone else but Jordyn to be the best to her.

The biggest things that come to mind when I think about my mom are her love of Christmas, 60’s music, hating Trump, her humor, her devotion to dogs, Elton John, Seattle(even 25 years after leaving she LOVED that city), LOVING football(Seahawks of course), her love of traveling, the ocean, Chinese Food (Pf Changs was a favorite), her lifelong love of Elephants, and her favorite flower, tulips. She had so many great friends in her life(most of which she met through flying) but her two best were Sam Foss and Patt Matson. She was friends with both of them for longer than I’ve been alive. She loved her niece Heather like a daughter.

If you have met me, you have met my Mom. When I pick up stray dogs on the side of the road? Her. How I make Erich do the same Christmas traditions EVERY YEAR? Her. My sarcasm? Her. Me posting and talking endlessly about animal rights? Her. My love of everything Japanese inspired? Her. Me always going on instinct and feeling like everything happens for a reason? Her. My love of Las Vegas? Her. My inability to be fake? Her.

I could post and talk about her every second of every day until the day I die and I still wouldn’t run out of things to say. Every last thing I am is because of my Mom. And the biggest honor I will ever have in this life is that I am her daughter. If you have already sent flowers or a card, I appreciate it, but honestly what I’d really like is if you ever met my Mom, please share a memory of her. 

I miss you so much Mama, I will always be your little girl. This is an excerpt from “I did it my way” by Frank Sinatra, the last song Erich and I played for her in the hospital. Absolutely no song I could think of was more fitting.

Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew

When I bit off more than I could chew

But through it all, when there was doubt

I ate it up and spit it out

I faced it all, and I stood tall

And did it my way

Joey Todd Ballentine 08/17/1948-02/12/2025

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