Richard Ward

Richard P. Ward died on March 18, 2018 at the age of 88 years in Greer, SC.

Richard ("Dick") Palmer Ward, son of Eugene Palmer Ward and Marie Harrelson Ward, was born on November 23, 1929 at home in the town of Tabor City, Columbus County, North Carolina. He is preceded in death by his parents, and older brother, Frances Eugene Ward. He is survived by his wife, Enid A. Ward; brothers Thomas Tucker Ward and Jerry Neil Ward, and three children, Marsha Krigsvold, Renee Rabenstein, and Mark Ward.

Due to his father's work with the military during wartime, the Ward family first lived in Fort Moultrie and Fort Screven, GA. Dick then was moved back to North Carolina to live with family in Tabor City and later in Wilmington where he graduated from New Hanover High School in 1948.

He married Enid Atkinson in the Baptist Church of Elizabethtown, NC on September 16, 1950.

He attended Memphis State University, where he studied accountancy, from 1952-1955. He was granted his Certificate of Accountancy in July, 1959. He later graduated from Harvard Business School with an MBA.

Like his father and brothers, Richard served in the military, joining the Air Force in 1953, during which time he was an Airman First Class and served as TAC operator. He received an honorable discharge due to illness. He worked in accountancy as an internal auditor for Tide Eater Power Co. while in Wilmington and as a senior accountant with Homer K. Jones & Co. and then as Cost and Procedure Analyst for American Bridge Division in Memphis. He worked with Vickers, Inc. in Troy, MI as a Pricing Supervisor and then went to work in Hartsville, SC with Sonoco Products Co. as Credit Manager. He became SE Division Credit Manager and Vice Treasurer for Gifford Hill, later Lehigh Hanson, in Charlotte NC and Dallas, TX.

Mr. Ward retired from Lehigh Hanson and returned to North Carolina to help care for his parents until their deaths. While in retirement, he worked with his communities' homeowner associations in Matthews and Wilmington, NC, by helping them write their By-Laws.

Richard was an active member of the Masonic Temple, joining while in Memphis and attending lodges in Hartsville, SC; Birmingham, AL; and Wilmington, NC. He achieved the 32nd degree. Over the years, Mr. Ward was active member in the Civitan Club, Rotary Club, Kiwanis Club, and Shriners, as well.

Mr. Ward was a generous, thoughtful and kind person. He had a great sense of humor and was an exemplary citizen, community member, husband and father. He enjoyed Dixie Land jazz and reading above all other activities. He was an autodidact; a lover of the study of philosophy, justice, history and his career field.

The family asks Richard's well-wishers to donate to one of the following organizations in lieu of sending flowers: Shriners Hospitals for Children or the American Heart Association.

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