Betty Heins Ward

1921 - 2008

Betty Heins Ward, 86, died on Friday, September 12, 2008, at Manor Care in Northbrook, Ill., after a long illness. Betty Heins was born on November 21, 1921, in Roanoke, Va., where she grew up as the second daughter of Elmore D. and Reba F. Heins, former owners of the Casselwold Estate, now the Roanoke United Methodist Home on Old Country Club Road. She was predeceased by her sister, Gretchen Heins Brazel, of Darien, Conn.; and is survived by her brother and sisterin-law, Robert D. and Mary Y. Heins, of Sarasota, Fla. Betty Heins attended Jefferson High School, Roanoke, Va., and National Park College, Annapolis, Md.
On November 22, 1941, she married Quaife M. Ward, of Marble Rock, Iowa. During the Second World War she functioned as the unofficial "Block Mother" in her neighborhood, keeping track of and rescuing children from mishaps while their mothers and fathers were either in military service or working in factories. The family lived in Cleveland, Ohio, Arlington, Va., and Evanston, Ill.
Betty was the beloved and devoted mother of five children, active with her family at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Evanston, a member of the Evanston Garden Club, the Evanston PTA, volunteered many years at the Evanston Public Library, the St. Augustine's Indian Center of Chicago, and the Chicago Botanic Gardens in Glencoe, Ill., from 1980 to 1995. She worked at Educational Testing Services in Evanston and at Searle Pharmaceuticals, Skokie, Ill. Throughout her life Betty maintained her passion for reading, gardening, needle arts, love of animals and fascination with the natural world.
She is survived by her children, Rebecca W. Harper, of Chester, Va., Robert H. Ward, of Berkeley, Calif., Kathleen W. and Mark A. Lauretano, of Lakeville, Conn., Thomas R. and Susan B. Ward, of Glenview, Ill., and Peter D. Ward, of Chicago, Ill.; seven grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
A memorial service and burial will be held 11 a.m. on Saturday, October 18, 2008, at Fair View Cemetery, 3300 Melrose Avenue, N.W., Roanoke, Va. Donations to her memory can be made to St. Augustine's Center for American Indians, 4512 No. Sheridan Road, Chicago, Ill. 60640 or the Chicago Botanic Gardens, 1000 Lake Cook Road, Glencoe, Ill. 60022.