Ward, Larry Walter -- 1935 - 2011
WARD, BELL, GROOM, TOLLEFSON, HALWEG, CLEMENT, BRANNAN, REIGER, RITCHIE, FORTNEY, ROTH, ATKINSON, LUND
Posted By: Joy Moore (email)
Date: 7/20/2012 at 13:23:26
Larry Ward, age 75, of Decorah, Iowa, passed away on Monday, November 21, 2011, at his home, surrounded by his loved ones, after a valiant fight against cancer and amyloidosis.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Monday, November 28, 2011, at the First Lutheran Church in Decorah, Iowa, with Rev. Marion Pruitt-Jefferson and Rev. Simon Hanson presiding. Burial will be in the Haney Ridge Cemetery, rural Boscobel, Wisconsin.
Friends may call from 4:00-7:00 p.m., on Sunday at the Schluter – Balik Funeral Home in Decorah, and also after 10:00 a.m., at the church on Monday morning.
Larry Walter Ward was born on December 7, 1935, the eleventh child of Walter and Sadie (Bell) Ward in Boscobel, Wisconsin. He attended elementary school in Posey Hollow and Steuben, WI. He graduated from Wauzeka High School in 1953, and then he farmed with his dad. On March 30, 1957, he married Patricia Groom. To this union, three children were born: Mark, Dawn and David. They moved to Decorah in 1961, and worked at Luther College for twelve years and then for the Decorah/Wisconsin Dairies Creamery for twenty-five years. Larry retired at the age of sixty-three, but still worked numerous odd jobs. Larry loved car racing and started by first helping his brother, Leonard, then his son-in-law, David and his grandson, Michael. He was voted pitman of the year by his peers the last year they raced. It was an award that he was very honored by. He was a very loyal, hardworking man who taught his son and grandson many mechanical, plumbing, electrical as well as many other tricks of the trade. For years, he mowed grass and plowed snow pro bono for many widows that live in the neighborhood. Larry and Pat both enjoyed making stained glass windows and having a beautiful flower garden. Larry always enjoyed helping people. Larry was a member of the First Lutheran Church in Decorah.
Larry is survived by his wife: Pat Ward, Decorah, IA. One daughter: Dawn (Dave) Tollefson, Decorah, IA. One son: Mark (Lisa) Ward, Albertville, MN. Nine grandchildren: David (Jeff) Tollefson, Amy (Jerome) Halweg, Michael (Renda) Tollefson, Melissa (Scott) Clement, Corey (Bridgett) Brannan, Tad Brannan, Will (Anita) Brannan, Jason (Amanda) Ward, and Brett (Tonya) Ward, along with nineteen great grandchildren. One sister: Ruth (Fritz) Reiger, Boscobel, WI. One brother: Leonard Ward, Eastman, WI. Special longtime friends: Ken and Marie Gumz, Sparta, WI, along with many nieces and nephews, extended family and friends.
Larry was preceded in death by his son, David on March 3, 1994. His parents: Walter and Sadie (Bell) Ward. His father and mother-in-law: Roy and Velva Groom. Four brothers: Neil, William, Ronald and LaVon “Shorty” Ward. Sisters and brothers-in-law: Lucille (Pete) Ritchie, Mildred (Alton) Fortney, Faye (Lewie) Roth, Betty Ward, John Atkinson and Bill Lund.
Source: Schluter - Balik Funeral Home database
Winneshiek Obituaries maintained by Bruce Kuennen.
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