Afton Hall Ward

Afton Hall Ward, beautiful mother and beloved wife, died in Austin Dec. 17 at age 86, after battling cancer. She and her husband, Dr. Darrell N. Ward, had lived for 50 years in Houston, where he was the head of the Department of Biochemistry at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Afton was born in Hyrum, Utah, to Claude LeRoy Hall, a teacher and principal, and Ethleen Lundstrom Hall. She was one of four daughters who loved to harmonize around the piano. They summered in Blacksmith Fork at "the Homestead," where they raised sheep, dairy cows and chickens. When Afton was a teenager, the family moved to Logan, Utah, where her father managed the family store, Lundstrom Furniture. Afton lived a block away from Darrell in Logan, but they didn't start dating until their senior year of high school. He tutored her in chemistry and called her "Atty." In 1944, at age 17, he enlisted in the Marines and was sent to Okinawa. Afton attended Utah State University, where she was president of her Chi Omega sorority. As soon as Darrell returned from the war, they married in the Logan Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on March 25, 1946. Though they didn't have a reception or wedding photographer, one of the family's treasured photos is of Darrell and Afton cutting a wedding cake – his sister's. They had two tow-headed daughters by the time they graduated from Utah State and headed to Palo Alto, Calif., where Darrell received his doctorate in biochemistry from Stanford University. Afton enjoyed teaching fifth grade. They had their third daughter in California. Daughter No. 4 was born in Queens Village, N.Y., while Darrell completed his post-doctorate at Cornell Medical School. M.D. Anderson brought them to Houston, where they had two sons and a fifth daughter. While raising her brood of seven, Afton taught nursery school at Mrs. Wagner's Little Red School House. Afton was always active in the LDS church, attending Maplewood Second Ward in Houston. She served as president of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers and enjoyed teaching her Relief Society class in appreciating other cultures. Together, Afton and Darrell traveled around the world. She loved gardening, quilting and caring for her 17 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren. She looked forward to summers at the cabin they built in Pagosa Springs, Colo. Afton is preceded in death by her parents and her three sisters, Margene Liljenquist, Ida Mae Winn and Shirley Monson. She is survived by her husband Darrell; daughter Kathy Coburn of Austin; daughter Pamela Reese, her husband Mike Reese and their daughter Shelly Bain of Austin; daughter Becky Ward, of Austin; daughter Janeen Browning and her husband Brent Browning of Houston; son Alan Darrell Ward and his wife Jolene Ward of Fort Collins, Colo.; daughter Melissa Ward Aguilar, of Houston; and son Gregory Hall Ward and wife Susan Ward, of Austin. Services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Dec. 19 at the Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home in Austin, and also at 10:30 a.m. Dec. 29 at Nelson Funeral Home in Logan, Utah. A tree will be planted in Afton's memory at Lundstrom Park, named for her grandfather who long served as Logan's mayor. Memorial donations can be made to M.D. Anderson's Annual Fund.