Final Salute

Stephen G. Ward
died on May 11, 2021, at his home in Ukiah. Steve was born in Ukiah, CA on September 6, 1945, the fourth child of Donald and
Ellen Ward. Steve grew up on Mill Street in Ukiah, attending Yokayo Elementary School and Ukiah High. After graduating high school
in 1963, Steve attended Humboldt State
University, graduating in 1968 with a degree in business and economics. 1968 was not a good year to graduate college and, in 1969, Steve found himself in Vietnam, where he served a tour with the U.S. Navy Seabees, as a combat squad leader and construction
supervisor while building forward operating bases for the Marines. After his tour in
Vietnam, Steve was stationed at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey and in 1971, his son Sam was born at the Fort Ord Army Hospital.
After he finished his service in the U.S. Navy, Steve joined the Arcata Police Department, later moving to Marin County and joining the Corte Madera and later Twin Cities Police Department as a Lieutenant.
Steve left law enforcement in 1981 to
become the Director of Security for Crocker National Bank, later working in various
capacities at Bank of America and WestAmerica Bank before retiring in 2006 as an Executive Vice President of Union Bank of California and the CEO of CalFirst Properties.
But jobs were a means to an end for Steve, he lived for new adventures and experiences, adopting the hobbies of ten men during his life. He filled his life with skiing, hunting, biking, sailing, and flying, each providing new opportunities for travel, and each
ultimately giving way to his passions for
fly fishing and cars.
Fly fishing took Steve around the world, from fighting with bears for fish in Alaska to watching pilots and helicopter mechanics argue over the sufficiency of helicopter maintenance in Siberia, there was not a
situation in life that didn’t have an appropriate fishing story. Steve strived to pass his hobby onto his son and grandchildren, each of whom are now kitted out with an
impressive collection of Orvis fly rods.
When he wasn’t fishing, he was tinkering with and driving an ever-shifting collection of cars. Apologies from the Ward family if he raced past you on Highway 101, or 20, or 128 at any point in the last sixty years.
After retiring in Ukiah, Steve invested his
full time and effort in the community,
supporting and serving as a board member of the Mendocino Foundation, Plowshares Peace and Justice Foundation, and the Grace
Hudson Museum, among others. Steve quickly became part of the fabric of the community that he had grown up in and
he was forever grateful to have had the
opportunity to return to Ukiah.
Steve is survived by his son, Sam Ward, his wife Michele, and their children, Maxwell and Madeleine Ward, of Carlsbad, California, his stepson, Kevin Lawlor, his wife Laurie, and his children Lucas and Alexandra, of Mandeville, Louisiana, and by his companion, Eileen Bostwick, of Ukiah. Steve is also survived by his sister Donna Hogan of Ukiah and his sister Beverly Van Pelt of Clearlake Oaks. Steve was predeceased by his brother, Ron Ward, of Chico.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a
contribution to the Mendocino Foundation,
Plowshares Peace and Justice Foundation, or the Grace Hudson Museum.
A remembrance of Steve’s life will be held at 11:00 A.M. on June 13, 2021 at the Rivino Winery, 4001 Rivino Ranch Road, Ukiah, CA. Please dress casually and please R.S.V.P. to sgwardsf@gmail.com.

To Plant Memorial Trees in memory, please visit our Sympathy Store.
Published in Ukiah Daily Journal on Jun. 8, 2021.