Thomas Gregory Ward

Thomas Gregory Ward III was born September 25, 1941 in Keysville Virginia and died peacefully on Tuesday, September 8, 2020 in Chapel Hill, NC. He was born to Thomas Gregory Ward II and Madeline Faris Ward. Tom was predeceased by his wife Mary Kennedy Ward.

Tom attended The College of William and Mary and received an A.B in History & Drama. He also attended The Catholic University of America and received a M.A. in History.

Tom had a long career in the Fairfax County Public School system in Virginia – both in teaching and Administration from which he retired in 1989. His civic and community work was extensive and on-going including serving the following organizations: Board Member of the Carolina Ballet; Friends of the Library; Raleigh Chamber of Music Guild; North Carolina Museum of History; Trustee for 25 years - Vice President and President of The Patrick Henry Memorial Foundation; President of the Arts Club of Washington DC; National Advisory Board of the Mini Page; and Founder of the Georgetown Workshop Theatre.

Between 1989 – 1991 Tom Founded and formed “Tom Ward and Associates” a consulting group for grant development and management of educational planning, standards development, in service training and consensus building. He contracted his services with many significant entities such as: Phillip Morris Company, McGraw Hill, New York State Education Department, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, to name a few.

Tom met Mary Kennedy in 1966 while teaching at Langley High School. They married in 1974 while living in Washington DC. Later moving to Raleigh NC to renovate Mary’s childhood homestead located on St. Mary’s street. Tom and Mary were the quintessential hosts and opened their home to their extensive and diverse group of friends and neighbors on a regular basis.

When not at home, Tom and Mary travelled the world and delighted in new experiences, different cultures, and of course fine wine and dining in every port. They visited Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Egypt, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, People’s Republic of China, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Scotland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Yugoslavia and Zaire, and the list goes on.

The Wards were devoted to each other and enjoyed being partnered for over 45 years. They loved life and had a wonderful “Joie De Vie” that was infectious.

A graveside service will be held at Oakwood Cemetery on September 29, 2020 at 1:30 p.m.

Arrangements by Brown-Wynne, 300 Saint Mary's Street, Raleigh.