Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Shawn Ward 1926 - 2006

JOHN X. WARD

John X. Ward, 80, who served in the Maryland General Assembly as a representative from Bethesda, passed away on Saturday, July 8, at home in Rockville, Maryland, after a long battle with Alzheimer's.

Born in Bayonne, New Jersey, in 1926, Mr. Ward was a World War II hero, awarded two Bronze Stars for bravery and two Purple Heart medals in the Battles of the Bulge and Rhineland. He moved to the Washington area after the war to complete his undergraduate studies at American University and later received a Masters of Business Administration from George Washington University. Mr. Ward had a distinguished acting career, appearing on stage, in movies and on television, including in an Emmy Award-winning documentary about Abraham Lincoln. He also directed many area theatrical productions. He founded Ward Associates, an advertising agency, and served as sales manager at WTOP and at the Washington Times. He was appointed by President Carter to the National Consumer Co-operative Bank.

A resident of Battery Park in Bethesda for 38 years, Mr. Ward was long active in Maryland politics. He served as precinct chairman for District 16 in Montgomery County and was elected to the Maryland General Assembly in 1974. He also founded the Democratic Breakfast Club, which provides a forum for political discourse about subjects of interest to local voters and public officials.

He is survived by his wife of 48 years, Flora Steward, of Rockville, Maryland, his three daughters, Elizabeth Ward, of Arlington, Virginia, Victoria Pfaff, of Bethesda, Maryland, and Alexandra Schroeder, of Annapolis, Maryland, five grandchildren, Annika and Colin MacEwen and Riley, Madeline and Gregory Pfaff, his sister Anne Marie Butenhoff of San Francisco, California, and a devoted extended family.

Donations can be made in his name to the Alzheimer's Association or the Jewish Social Services Agency Hospice of Metropolitan Washington.

Love to you all. Flo