Herschel Thomas Ward

Herschel Thomas Ward, Jr. was born in 1926 in a small town in western North Carolina, the son of Herschel Thomas Ward, Sr. and Rachel Effie Keever. His father worked for a woolen mill for many years, and his mother was a homemaker. He had one older sister who died when she was young. Herschel graduated from Granite Falls High School in 1943, and began college at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. World War II intervened and Herschel joined the Army, serving until the end of the war. After being discharged from the Army, he returned to finish his degree at UNC and then obtained his Master's degree from North Carolina State University in Raleigh. After college, in 1950, he began working at the Naval Ordnance Lab in Silver Spring, Maryland, just outside Washington, DC. At NOL, Herschel met his future wife, Marian, and they were married in the early 1950s. They began a family, and had three children, Susan, Nancy and Tommy. They eventually moved to Fairfax County, in Northern Virginia, where they lived for more than 20 years. Herschel worked for Fairchild Industries, participating in the early development of the communications satellite industry that has ultimately contributed to the development of the internet, cell phones, cable TV, Google Earth and a whole host of ways that we live today. The Wards also lived near San Francisco, California for more than 12 years, where Herschel worked for another communications satellite company. During the 1950s, Herschel began his lifelong hobby and interest in skeet shooting, joining clubs in Northern Virginia and Northern California, near San Francisco. In 1989, Herschel and Marian retired and moved to Florida, as they had always wanted to do. For 21 years, the Wards lived a tranquil life. Their children made regular visits, Herschel went skeet shooting twice a week and they enjoyed their life in Florida. On Sunday, August 8, 2010, Herschel suffered a fall in the bathroom of their home, and died on August 30, 2010. His family was there with him the entire time. He was 84 years old and had lived a long and wonderful life. He is truly one of the "Greatest Generation". It has been said that the greatest thing a man can do for his children is to love their mother. No one could have loved his wife more! Herschel and Marian created a close and loving family. He is survived by his wife, Marian of Apopka, Florida; children Susan Clarke and husband Timothy of Virginia Beach, Virginia; Nancy Higgen and husband David of Apopka, Florida, Thomas Ward and companion Diana of Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, and 4 grandchildren, Alex and Dana Clarke, and Anne and Bonnie Higgen.

Herschel Thomas Ward

June 16, 1926 - August 30, 2010