Gary Dwight Ward, 73, died on June 3, 2020, at his home in Temple, Texas surrounded by family after a long courageous battle with cancer.
Gary enlisted in the United States Army in 1968 and retired after 21 yrs as a First Sergeant (1SG). During his service, he bravely fought in the Vietnam War, did 3 tours in Korea, 2 tours in Germany, and was stationed in multiple posts in the United States. After retiring, Gary couldn’t just sit around and continued to work in the civilian sector until 2015.
In 1996, Gary fell in love with his wife Cheryl and a year later they were married. They built a life together in Temple Texas, where at the time of his death they lived, along with his sister-in-Law JoJo and his beloved pup, Bella.
Gary was preceded in death by his mother, Ellen Ward and brother, Terry Herndon.
He leaves his loving memories to be cherished by his wife, Cheryl Ward; daughter Cyndi Ward Sweeney; son Gary Michael Ward; sister Pam Smith and husband Carey; brother Leigh Ward and wife Laura; sisters Sherry Turner and Debbie Bothe; grandchildren, Amber (Ward) Reynolds, Haylea Ward, Patrick Sweeney, Hannah Sweeney, Emalynn Ward, and Connor Ward; along with great grandchildren, numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and family.
In building a life with his beautiful wife Cheryl, Gary was blessed with a second family in his sister-in-law JoJo Wade, sister-in-law Bobbie Kral and husband Oscar, and their children and extended loved ones.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Wounded Warriors Project or the Paralyzed Veterans of America.
The family wishes to extend their gratitude to Scott & White Health Hospice for their loving support in his final days. For those that knew and loved Gary, his wishes were to go from this world in peace without any accolades in his honor. He wished only to be reunited with his loved ones in Heaven and his final resting place to be at home with his loving wife.
