Elizabeth B. Ward

An accomplished artist, lifelong student, and creative teacher, Elizabeth Ward of Tiburon passed away on June 27, 2011, after a long illness.

Elizabeth was born on July 28, 1936, in Huntsville, Alabama, and she graduated from Holton-Arms School in Washington, D.C. In March 1955, Elizabeth met future husband Lt. Dick Ward on a blind date in Tokyo, where she was living with her military family; by early October, the couple had married. Elizabeth and Dick settled in Tiburon in 1959 and became active members of Peace Lutheran Church in Mill Valley.

While raising her three children, Elizabeth earned a BFA with high honors in Painting and Drawing from the California College of the Arts, and she served as organist at St. Hilary and St. Anselm’s Catholic parishes. She later earned an MFA at the Academy of Art in San Francisco, where she worked from 1996 through 2000 as a much-loved art instructor.

In recent years, Elizabeth’s deep faith led her to become a lector and a Eucharistic minister at St. Sebastian’s Catholic Church and at Marin General Hospital.

Elizabeth is survived by Dick, her husband of 55 years; children Margaret Koike (Steven) of Salinas, Stephanie Yamada (Garrett) of Newark, and Christopher Ward (Beverly) of Athol, Idaho; eight grandchildren; one great-grandson; sister Evelyn Lockton (John) of Hillsborough; and niece Rachel Chandramouli (Mahesh) of San Ramon.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, July 5, at St. Sebastian’s Catholic Church, 373 Bon Air Rd, Greenbrae, CA 94904.

Elizabeth’s family requests that memorial gifts be given in her name to the music fund at St. Sebastian’s Catholic Church or to Heartland Hospice, 2455 Bennett Valley Rd, #B214, Santa Rosa, CA 95404.

In addition, the family wishes to thank the staff at Wind Chime of Marin Memory Care and at Heartland Hospice for their help and support.