The Lord decided to take His under sheppard, the Rev. Ronald Woodrow Ward of Conway, home to glory on Friday, Dec. 14, 2018. Born on Jan. 25, 1944, in Loris, he was the son of the late Eugene Vance Ward and the late Thelma Sawyer Ward.
At a very young age, the Reverend Ward, as he would come to be known, began delivering papers for Atlantic Publishing Company. He went on to work for many years as a salesman of paper products before starting his own company, Loris Paper & Chemicals. He was a devout pastor at Mt. Tabor Baptist Church in Georgetown, for thirty-eight years, and he was passionate about both mission and disaster relief ministry trips.
Reverend Ward was a dedicated member and former president and consultant for the Bivocational & Small Church Network. He will be most affectionately remembered as the best pig cooker around and a two time chicken bog champion at the Loris Bog-Off Festival.
Survivors include his loving wife, Susan Moore Ward of the home; four sons, Rex Ward and wife Terri of Ninety-Six, Ritchie Ward and wife Christi of Tiptonville, Tenn., Rusty Lowery and wife Kim of Myrtle Beach and Kevin Lowery and wife Amy of Canton, N.C.; two daughters, Samantha Ward Norris and husband Coy Lee Norris Jr. of Loris and Kristi Lowery and Doug Ladeaux of New York, N.Y.; ten grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; one brother, LeVerne Ward and wife LeJeune of Loris; and one sister, Sara Gene Sullivan of Hartsville.
In addition to his parents, the Reverend Ward was predeceased by one brother, Gene Keith Ward.
The family received friends from 2 until 4 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 16, at Hardwick Funeral Home and again from 1 until 2 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 17, at Mt. Tabor Baptist Church in Georgetown. Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 17, at Mt. Tabor Baptist Church with committal services following at Mt. Tabor Baptist Church Cemetery.
The family requests that memorials be made to Mt. Tabor Baptist Church, 18504 N. Fraser St., Georgetown, S.C. 29440 or to the Bivocational & Small Church Network, P.O. Box 111744, Nashville, TN 37222-1744 or on their website at www.bscln.net.
Sign the Reverend Ward’s online guest book at hardwickfuneralhome.com.
Hardwick Funeral Home of Loris served the family.