IN LOVING MEMORY OF
Don
Ward
August 17, 1940 – September 12, 2014
Obituary
Kingman – Donald "Don" Dean Ward, 74, was born Aug. 17, 1940, in Cherokee, Okla., and died Sept. 12, 2014, at Via Christi Hospital, St. Francis, Wichita, after a tough medical battle. He was the son of Victor "V.O." and Lois Cook Ward.
A Kingman, Kan., resident since 1962, Don was a retired high school physical educator and coach. He also had been a long-time referee and high school athletics league commissioner.
Don married Karen May of Dodge City, Kan., on Dec. 18, 1960. Together they raised three sons, Mike, Alan and Scott, who were the light of his life.
He enjoyed drinking coffee with friends, talking about KU basketball, feeding geese in the park and bragging about his grandchildren. He enthusiastically collected basketball cards and yo-yos. He had been an outstanding athlete as a young man and he enjoyed sports of all kinds. Over the years, he was always there to support the four generations of students who he took under his wing.
Don had been actively involved in his community. He attended Kingman Christian Church, where he had been a board member, and had served on the USD 331 School Board and the Meals on Wheels board. He had been a volunteer at the Kingman Food Bank. He was a member of the Lions Club, O.F.C.C. and the Masonic Lodge.
Don's medical battle began in 1989, when he was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease. He received a donated kidney that sustained him for 24 years, seven months and two days. He was a strong advocate for organ donation.
He was preceded in death by his parents, V.O. and Lois Ward, a brother, Larry Ward, a sister, Patty Osthoff, and in-laws, Katherine and Roland May.
He is survived by: his wife, Karen, of Kingman; sons, Mike and his wife, Nacona, of Stilwell, Kan., and their two children, Tori and Keller; Alan of Grapevine, Texas, and his son, Christopher, and Scott and his wife, Robin, of Lawrence, Kan.; many nephews and nieces, and a multitude of friends.
Memorial service was at 11 a.m. Friday Sept. 19, 2014, at the Kingman Christian Church, Kingman, Kan. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Kingman Area Meals on Wheels Inc., 750 Ave. D West, Kingman, KS 67068.
A Kingman, Kan., resident since 1962, Don was a retired high school physical educator and coach. He also had been a long-time referee and high school athletics league commissioner.
Don married Karen May of Dodge City, Kan., on Dec. 18, 1960. Together they raised three sons, Mike, Alan and Scott, who were the light of his life.
He enjoyed drinking coffee with friends, talking about KU basketball, feeding geese in the park and bragging about his grandchildren. He enthusiastically collected basketball cards and yo-yos. He had been an outstanding athlete as a young man and he enjoyed sports of all kinds. Over the years, he was always there to support the four generations of students who he took under his wing.
Don had been actively involved in his community. He attended Kingman Christian Church, where he had been a board member, and had served on the USD 331 School Board and the Meals on Wheels board. He had been a volunteer at the Kingman Food Bank. He was a member of the Lions Club, O.F.C.C. and the Masonic Lodge.
Don's medical battle began in 1989, when he was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease. He received a donated kidney that sustained him for 24 years, seven months and two days. He was a strong advocate for organ donation.
He was preceded in death by his parents, V.O. and Lois Ward, a brother, Larry Ward, a sister, Patty Osthoff, and in-laws, Katherine and Roland May.
He is survived by: his wife, Karen, of Kingman; sons, Mike and his wife, Nacona, of Stilwell, Kan., and their two children, Tori and Keller; Alan of Grapevine, Texas, and his son, Christopher, and Scott and his wife, Robin, of Lawrence, Kan.; many nephews and nieces, and a multitude of friends.
Memorial service was at 11 a.m. Friday Sept. 19, 2014, at the Kingman Christian Church, Kingman, Kan. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Kingman Area Meals on Wheels Inc., 750 Ave. D West, Kingman, KS 67068.
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