James Ward

James P. Ward James “Jim” P. Ward went to be with his Lord and Savior on May 11, 2017. Jim was born February 17, 1936 to Lawrence J. and Elizabeth (Schrenk) Ward in Erie, Pennsylvania. He is survived by his wife, Lois (Deane) Ward; two sisters, Eileen Mancuso (Al) of Huntsville, Alabama, and Carol Starks (Bill) of Cranesville, Pennsylvania; two sons, Michael (Ohio) and David (Pennsylvania) and a daughter, Laura Hoecker (Houston, TX). James grew up in Erie enjoying fishing on the lake with his brother and pals; he enjoyed doing a lot of volunteer work at the Erie Museum in his high school years. He graduated from Strong Vincent High School in 1954 and began a varied career. He liked to travel and did so at every opportunity. He liked photography, was a trained artist and enjoyed music of every kind. His favorite job was doing electrical work on the construction of a 1000-foot iron ore carrying ship on the Great Lakes for Litton. While in Texas on job assignment, he met Lois. They married and moved back to Buffalo, N.Y. A few years later, they moved to Washington. Jim never met a stranger and always had a smile for all those he met. He was preceded in death by his parents and a brother, Gerald. The family would like to thank the staff at Cottage in the Meadow, Dr. Scott Heflick, Dr. Robert Schefter, Dr. Cheryl Davison and her staff at the Virginia Mason Memorial Hospice team. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of James Ward, please visit our flower store.