Doyne, daughter of Louis and Vera Nelson, was born and raised in West Jordan, UT. She met her husband, Arthur "Jay" Ballard while attending BYU. They were married in the Logan Temple on June 7, 1954 and were together for 58 years until Jay passed away on November 13, 2012. They raised their family of four children in Sandy, UT and the San Francisco Bay area.

Doyne was very mathematical so accounting and bookkeeping came natural to her. She worked in the accounting department of various companies during her lifetime. Doyne loved to sew and was a master quilter for over 40 years. She made all 20 of her grandchildren hand appliqued and hand quilted baby quilts and pieced bed quilts when they were teenagers. She made wedding quilts for all but 3 of her grandchildren before her health no longer allowed her to quilt. She loved learning new quilting skills and fabric shopping with her daughters. She made hundreds of quilts that she donated to local charities and hospitals. She was known as the "cookie Grandma" to all of her grandchildren. Each year at Christmas she would send a banker's box full of cookies to all of her children's families.

Doyne was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served in many callings including a Family History mission with her husband.. In addition to her four children, she is survived by 20 grandchildren and 38 great-grandchildren. She will be buried with her husband at Fort Logan National Military Cemetery in Denver, CO.