William Lawrence Ward

William Lawrence Ward was born on July 21, 1941 in Quincy. He passed away at the age of 78 on June 26, 2020, his loving wife Honey by his side. Bill and Honey had just celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary on June 17, 2020. Preceding him in death were his parents Kenneth Ward and Doris Joslyn and great grandson Ryder Lawrence Ward.

Bill grew up hunting, fishing, running trap lines, and playing football in Quincy. Bill met Honey in college where it was love at first site. He joined the Army in 1960, married the love of his life in 1961 and was honorably discharged at the end of 1962. They had four children, nine grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. Bill worked for PG&E as a substation/maintenance electrician and the family settled in Eureka in 1969, where they raised their family for 51 years in Myrtletown. He retired from PG&E after 31 years of service.

He was a great man who touched the lives of everyone he met. He was the textbook example of being a great man, son, brother, husband, father, uncle and friend. He coached baseball for many years and was the #1 fan of his own family and many others, but always cheered for both teams.

Bill was a true outdoorsman and loved to share his vast knowledge with his family and friends. After moving to the coast Bill found a love of the ocean and became a certified diver. If he wasn’t chasing fish with a spear gun he was pulling abalone from rocks with friends. Bill made his own dip net and when the surf fish were running you would find him on the beach pulling them from the waves. Bill would always jump at the opportunity to get out on the ocean to chase salmon or halibut. One highlight was his fishing trip to Alaska with his son, Eric. If you ever fished with him, he always had the biggest grin on his face because he loved every second of it. Many days of fishing were spent at the end of the road we lived on with his kids, fishing for sand sharks and bullheads. He knew early on that it wasn’t what you were fishing for but the quality time spent with his family. His love of hunting never faded and he couldn’t wait to break out the rifles or bow and arrows just to be in the woods once more.

He was the man you could always count on and would help anyone that needed it day or night. If you were lucky enough to know him you probably called him Bill, Uncle Bill, or Grandpa but we simply called him Dad. He made each of his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren feel like they hung the moon. And how he loved his wife’s cooking. He always said,” Thanks for dinner that was one mighty fine meal.”

Bill is survived by his wife of 59 years, Almeda (Honey) Ward; his sis Karen Mecchi and husband Ray; his four children and their spouses, Julie and Mark Zeibak, Ginger and Chris Cardona, Susan Ward, and Eric and Diana Ward; his nine grandchildren, Jeremy (Becky), Patrick (Audrey), Michael (Jaclyn) Ramer; BJ (Shelby) Ward, Dustin Ward; Juleigha Zeibak; Melissa, Matthew and Lily Ward; and 10 great-grandchildren Payton, Ronell, Ryder, Kiriko, Madelyn, Nolan, Gracie, Leah, Alice and Olivia. Bill adored his family and will be greatly missed. One of his favorite pastimes was sitting in the front yard on his lawn swing and waving to everyone going by.

To the Myrtletown folks — thanks a million for the waves.

There will be a celebration of life at a later date.