W. J. Ward, born September 5, 1930 and passed away on August 27, 2026.

He was born in House, Mississippi, in a house in the Bethesda Community on the outskirts of Philadelphia, Mississippi, the youngest boy of eight children of Julius Ozell Ward and Mary Jane Hardy.

W. J. was a Korean War veteran who served honorably in the United States Navy as a navigator aboard the USS Beltrami. He was a graduate of William Carey University in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi (SMTTT).

He worked as a CPA for Shell Oil Company and Michigan Wisconsin Pipeline. After retiring from the oil industry, he served as vice president of financial affairs at William Carey University.

A man of deep faith in Jesus, W. J. was a member of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Grenada, Mississippi; a longtime member of Champion Forrest Baptist Church, Spring, TX; a charter member of Morrison Heights Baptist Church in Clinton, Mississippi; and a charter member of Eastside Baptist Church in New Orleans, Louisiana. He also helped plant a church in Manhattan, New York. While working near the World Trade Center towers, he witnessed their construction in 1973 and their destruction on September 11, 2001.

Affectionately known by family and close friends as Uncle Dub and in his later years as “Papa,” he was remembered by neighbors as “one kind soul” and “the sweetest man.”

He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Patsy Nell Tuggle Ward, his parents and seven siblings.

He is survived by his two daughters, Julie Danelle Ward Droulliard and Laura Ann Ward Barker and her husband Brent; four grandchildren, Amy Lee Drouillard Creel, Rachel Lynn Drouillard, Wesley Ward Barker and his wife Claire, and Laura-Katherine Barker-Richardson and her husband Zach; and four great-grandchildren, Cullen Bryant Creel, Grayson Lee Creel, Sophie Louise Barker, and Reece Laurence Richardson.

A graveside service with military honors will be held at 9:00 AM on Tuesday, September 1, 2026 at Klein Memorial Park in Tomball, TX with Dr. Brent D. Barker and Rev. Wesley W. Barker officiating.

Online condolences may be expressed to the family at www.mckibbenandguinn.com.

McKibben and Guinn Funeral Service in Grenada is honored to serve the Ward family.