Margaret "Jean" Ward

Memorial Funeral Services for Margaret Jean Ward, will be held at 11:00 AM on Monday, August 5, 2024 at Live Oak Community Church,8 Heyman Lane, Alexandria, Louisiana 71303, with Reverend Jordan James officiating, and under the direction of Gallagher Funeral Home. Interment to follow, with Jean being laid to rest at the columbarium at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, 4000 Monroe Highway, Ball, Louisiana, 71405.
Memorial Visitation will be held from 10:00 AM until service time at the church.
Margaret "Jean" Ward went home to be with the Lord on July 28, 2024, after a hard-fought battle with Parkinson's disease. She was 87 years old.
Jean is predeceased by her husband, Walter L. Ward, Jr. (Union Cemetery); daughter, Alvenia Jean Rowell (Union Cemetery); great grandson, Brett Gist (Arlington Cemetery); mother, Alvenia Michael (Arlington Memorial Park Cemetery); and stepfather, Mike Michael (Arlington Memorial Park Cemetery).
She is survived by sons, Michael L. Ward, and Thomas L. Ward (Marilyn); grandchildren, Yolanda Royal, Charles Tabor (Heather), Jacob Tabor (Carlee), Angela Thigpen, Danny Roberts (Heather), Shea Ward, Alexander Ward, and Jennifer Cooke (Brian); and many great-grandchildren.
Born in El Dorado, Arkansas, on July 11, 1937, Jean was a gregarious soul who loved life and enjoyed taking charge. A lifelong member of Live Oak Community Church, she used her gift for sewing for Kingdom work, making numerous baby blankets for mission projects around the globe. Her gift soon became her profession: Working at the Singer Sewing Machine Company for several years and teaching classes, she received a special commendation letter from the then president of the United States for her outstanding work.
Her creative talents went far beyond needle and thread, as Jean was just as well known for her baking and candy making. Wedding and birthday cakes for friends and neighbors often filled her family's kitchen. Her dexterity with a piping bag, like her gift for sewing, eventually informed a decades-long career at Atwood's Bakery, where she became a member of the International Cake Exploration Society and filled countless customers with sugar and love.
Through it all, Jean's heart for service shone through; as a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, she lived out her calling daily.