Louise Ward

Louise W. Ward, 69, died Friday, February 4, 2011 at Duke University Medical Center following a brief illness (acute lung failure because of very recently detected lymphomas and other health complications). She was surrounded by her loving family. Surviving are her Husband of 43 years, Thomas E. Ward; her Daughter Kama Ward and Husband Ray Ring, her Son Kevin Ward and Wife Debbie; and two Grandchildren, Kiah Ring and Zeb Ring. She is the Daughter of the late Ray and Lorraine Winecoff. Upon graduating from Mt. Pleasant High School, she attended then Mars Hill Junior College, and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC with a BS degree in Child Development and Family Relations. She used her excellent background and education to pursue tirelessly the betterment and protection of children. She was a pioneer Director of Head Start Programs in the mid-to-late nineteen-sixties. She performed research and developed program criteria, approaches and reference material for a new effort in Durham County, NC named The Welcome Baby Program, which furnished one-on-one help and guidance for first-time mothers beginning on the day of their child's birth and continuing for as long as the new mothers requested it. Louise was, also, a very active volunteer worker in the program and helped many individual first-time mothers. Louise was a loved kindergarten teacher, also. She accomplished other strong volunteer work, attaining the National Volunteer of the Year Award for the National Arthritis Foundation in 1979. She supported Prevent Child Abuse, MADD, HALT, Disabled American Veterans, and other Charitable Groups. She was a wonderful, devoted, and successful homemaker for her immediate family. She enjoyed, reciprocally, many lifelong excellent friendships: some from her childhood, some from college, and some from all other periods of her life. Louise traveled, seeing much of the grandeur and beauty of the United States. She was selected for bit parts which resulted in her on-screen appearance in three Hollywood Produced major motion pictures filmed in major portion in the Durham and Chapel Hill, NC areas. She is remembered for her enthusiastic speaking appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Louise's good and unique sense of humor was well known by her friends and acquaintances. Also, throughout her life, she required each of her many physicians other medical caregivers to have a good sense of humor. Yes, earlier in her life she refused a couple of medical procedures because of medical personnel with dour humorless approaches, and rescheduled the procedures with different physicians. All of her recent Duke Univ. Med. Center medical caregivers had good senses of humor. Funeral service will be held at 1:00PM Friday, February 11, 2011, at Grace Lower Stone Church, 2405 Lower Stone Church Road, Rockwell, NC. Burial will follow immediately after the service in the Grace Lower Stone Church Cemetery.