John Stanley Ward

John S. Ward passed away February 11, 2022. Born to Kathleen Jean and William Henry (Robin) Ward in Wisbech, England, John grew up in that Fenland port town known as the ‘Capital of the Fens’ where he developed his love for wildfowling and fishing. John attended the University of Reading (west of London) where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Pure and Applied Mathematics. While at University, John was the coxswain for the Reading eights rowing crew. Following University John accepted employment at Rolls Royce as an engineer in the aero department and met Diane. They wed in April of 1972 and have been side-by-side ever since. They welcomed two daughters while living in England and Scotland before moving across the pond to Los Angeles, CA where John’s love of golf and warm weather grew. After six years in California, John and family moved to Pittsburgh, PA as he continued his career in food packaging R&D (research and development) engineering. John’s colleagues became life-long friends, and they traveled the world together for both business trips and golf adventures. Business trips always led to postcards to his girls at home from faraway exciting places. Favorite golf trips included the links courses in Scotland - he took great joy in planning trips there to explore both the courses and the pubs. Following retirement John and Diane headed south to Bluffton, SC. Done with the snowy winters of Pittsburgh, John enjoyed being able to golf all year long and meeting new friends for whom to organize golf outings, but he never abandoned supporting the Pittsburgh Steelers. John was known by all as a true gentleman – a man of few words at times, but always witty when he did speak. He possessed the kindest of hearts and a twinkle in his eye. Despite 40-plus years in America, he never lost his British roots and charmed all who met him. John will be forever loved and terribly missed by his wife of almost 50 years Diane Ward, his mother Kathleen Jean Ward, his daughters Esmeralda Ward and Natasha Walizer, son-in-law Michael Walizer, and two grandsons Max and Charlie Walizer. Extended family and friends too numerous to count share in the grief of losing this treasured soul. John is preceded in death by his father William ‘Robin’ Ward. A celebration of John’s life will be held later this spring. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to organizations supporting Parkinson’s disease and dementia research