RICHARD ALVORD WARD
AAFA #1024
1921 CA - 2008 VA
His ALVORD lineage through his mother:
Richard1
Grace Lucile 1891 IA2
George Raymond 1865 MI3
George Raymond 1840 MI4
Nathaniel Clarke 1804 MA5
Elijah 1770 MA6
Nathan 1731 MA7
John 1685 MA8
Thomas 1653 CT9
Alexander 1627 England10
Thomas [ALFORD] 1598 England11
For more information about this family, see AAFA’s published genealogies:
Known Descendants of Alexander Alvord and Mary Vore
Thomas Alford b. about 1598 England
Obituaries
POST AND COURIER
Charleston, Charleston Co., SC
Monday, 4 August 2008
Richard Alvord Ward, a retired Marine pilot and respected attorney, died peacefully at his
home in Irvington, VA on July 31, 2008. He was 85.
Born in San Bernardino, CA, on October 21, 1922, Richard studied at the University of
California, Berkeley and George Washington University, receiving his JD with honors 1965. He served both as
Associate Editor of the Law Review and President of the George Washington Law Association and was a member
of the bar in Virginia, DC, and before the US Supreme Court. He practiced law for 20 years and retired as partner
of the Arlington, VA, firm of Rice, Carpenter and Carroway, where he specialized in motor carrier and corporate law.
Prior to becoming an attorney Richard served in the US Marine Corps for 20 years,
enlisting during World War II. He was a Naval Aviator with the Marines in WWII and the Korean War, commanding
a jet squadron prior to retirement as a Lieutenant Colonel. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal
with two gold stars, The Navy Commendation Medal with combat V, and numerous unit medals.
Richard was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, the Military Officers
Association, and was Treasurer for the Mary Ball Museum in Lancaster, VA. He also volunteered with the VITA/CLE
income tax assistance program for low income and elderly residents of the area. He loved to garden and was active
in the Master Gardener program of the Virginia Cooperative Extension.
Richard’s other passions included golf, sailing, jazz, and wine--particularly Pinot Noir. He
was a partner in Saintsbury Winery in Napa, CA.
He is survived by his wife, Jean Redick Ward of Irvington, VA; three children, Normandie
Ward Fischer and her husband Michael onboard s/v Sea Venture, Richard A. Ward, Jr. and his wife Linda Reiff of
St. Helena, CA, and Heidi Meadows Ward Ravenel and her husband Arthur Ravenel III of Charleston, SC; by seven
grandchildren, Philippa Meadows Ward, Sara Ariana Simmons Milton, Langdon Trent Alexander Ward, T. Wade
Ravenel, Joshua Wade Meadows Milton, Caroline Renee Ravenel, and Sara Meadows Ravenel; and by three
step-children, Marion Redick McEnroe, George Patrick McEnroe, and Dana McEnroe Reynolds.
Internment at Arlington National Cemetery with military honors will be this fall. Memorial
donations may be made to the Ashley Hall Foundation, Charleston, SC.
Visit our guestbook at
www.charleston.net/deaths.
WASHINGTON POST
Washington, DC
August 2008
RICHARD ALVORD WARD LAWYER, MARINE PILOT
Richard Alvord Ward, 85, a lawyer and former Marine pilot, died of pulmonary fibrosis
July 31 at his home in Irvington, Virginia.
A partner in the law firm of Rice, Carpenter and Carraway in Arlington County [Virginia],
he specialized in motor carrier and corporate law. He retired in 1985.
He was born in San Bernardino, California, and graduated from George Washington
University. He joined the Marine Corps during World War II, serving as an aviator in the Pacific, and later was
a pilot during the Korean War.
He commanded a jet squadron before his military retirement, at the rank of lieutenant
colonel, in 1962. Among his awards were the Distinguished Flying Cross and three awards of the Air Medal.
Col. Ward received a law degree from GWU in 1965 and worked first for what is now
the Berliner law firm in Washington before joining Rice, Carpenter and Carraway.
He was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution and the Military Officers
Association and treasurer of the Mary Ball Washington Museum in Lancaster, Virginia.
He was a founding member of the Unitarian Universalist Church in White Stone, Virginia,
and volunteered with an organization providing income tax assistance to low-income and elderly residents.
Col. Ward was a master gardener, and he loved golf, jazz and sailing, having lived for a
year on his boat in the Caribbean in 1970. A wine aficionado, he was a partner in his son’s business, Saintsbury
Winery in Napa, California.
His marriage to Ella Meadows Ward ended in divorce.
Survivors include his wife, Jean Redick Ward of Irvington; three children from his first
marriage, Normandie Ward Fischer of Gloucester, North Carolina, Richard A. Ward Jr. of St. Helena, California,
and Heidi Meadows Ward Ravenel of Charleston, South Carolina; three stepchildren, Marion Redick McEnroe
and Dana McEnroe Reynolds, both of Portland, Maine, and George Patrick McEnroe of Houston [Texas]; and
seven grandchildren.
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AAFA NOTES: SSDI records confirm the birth and death dates of Richard A. Ward
(SS# issued in CA), last residence Irvington, Lancaster Co., VA.
