Walter Ward

Walter F. Ward Walter Franklin Ward or rural Independence, Kansas, died Wednesday, June 28, 2006, at St. Johns Medical Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was 67. Graveside services will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, July 3, 2006, at Harrisonville Cemetery near Bolton, KS. Penwell-Gabel Loran Fawcett Chapel of Neodesha is in charge of arrangements. The Reverend Mike Morris will officiate. Friends may call Friday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday from 1-8 p.m. The family will receive friends Sunday from 6-8 p.m. The son of Charley and Ellen Gardner Ward, he was born September 1, 1938, in Collins, MO. He has resided in this area for the past 40 years. He was united in marriage to Mary Ellen Emons and they were
orced in 1989. He married Laura Swenson on December 9, 1993, in Neodesha. She survives at the home. Mr. Ward was employed by the Montgomery County Public Works Department for 26 years, serving as a supervisor for 18 years before retiring. He assisted his wife who is the owner of 75 Auto Sales in Neodesha. He loved to garden and restore automobiles. At the age of 19, he received the Carnegie National Hero Medal for rescuing a woman from a fire. During that effort, he was severely burned. In addition to his wife, he is survived by three sons, James, David and Bobby Ward, all of Caney, KS; two daughters, Linda Ward of Peru, KS, and Connie Ward of Niotaze, KS; two step-sons, Ray Jude of Lawton, OK, and Jay Browning of Neodesha, KS; one step-daughter, Susan Mishler of Chanute, KS; three brothers, Charles Ward of Blue Springs, MO, Curt Ward of Arkansas, and Bill Ward of Mansville, MO; one step-sister, Mollie of Garden City, MO; 10 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. Memorial contributions may be made to the W.A. Rankin Memorial Library and may be left at the funeral home. Condolences may be expressed at www.penwellgabel.com.