Ruth S. Ward

Ruth Mildred Stephens Ward, 94, of Staunton, passed away peacefully in her sleep on Friday, September 26, 2025, at her residence after a short battle with cancer.

She was born in Far Hills, NJ on December 31, 1930, and was the daughter of the late William H. Stephens and Mildred A. (Kaufmann) Stephens. She was predeceased by her beloved husband of fifty-nine years, John E. Ward. She was also predeceased by her brother, Robert W. Stephens of Milford, NJ; her daughter-in-law, Mary Ward of Harrisburg, PA; and a son-in-law, Richard LaPointe of Far Hills, NJ.

Mrs. Ward had three children: her son, Robert H. Ward of Harrisburg, PA, and her daughters, Elizabeth L. LaPointe of Staunton, VA and Sue Ann Armstrong and her husband, Larry of Churchville, VA. She dearly loved her five grandchildren: Chris Armstrong and his wife, Stephanie of Weyers Cave, VA, Rick LaPointe and his wife, Alison of Hackettstown, NJ, Sean Armstrong and his wife, Jennifer of Rockingham, VA, Katie Anderson and her husband, Mark of Palmyra, PA, and Christy Weaver and her husband, Jordan of Camden, SC.

She also had ten great-grandchildren, the delight of her life: Isaac, Beau and Lauren Armstrong, Ashlynn and Easton Armstrong, Emily and Cole Weaver, Connor and Izzy Anderson and Leo LaPointe. They spent many nights at Great-Grandma's house and, in her eyes, could do no wrong.

In high school, she was elected to the New Jersey Girls State Program. They visited the state legislature, drafted bills, and observed how the government worked.

She was a member of the high school marching band and orchestra.

After graduation, she was employed by the Martindale-Hubble Company which publishes and maintains a noted registry of attorneys. At the same time she also started keeping the books for her brother’s sporting goods store and his pool service business. Eventually, she left Martindale-Hubble and managed the store as well as maintaining the ledgers for the business. After the store was sold, she became an office manager for the Edward Jones Investment firm. In fact, she spent time as an office manager in all of the Edward Jones offices in the area.

She was an avid golfer. She and her husband were members of the Oak Hill Golf Club in Milford, NJ. They also played all of the Somerset County courses in New Jersey and, over the years, most of the courses in Myrtle Beach, SC.

The Wards also enjoyed traveling. In the early years it was camping with their children. One of their most extensive trips was camping all the way down the Blue Ridge Parkway to the Great Smoky Mountains and back. They traveled to Alaska, taking a cruise ship from Vancouver to Juneau, bussing through the interior and flying back from Anchorage. They traveled to Europe on numerous occasions, visiting at different times, England, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and, on a special trip, toured Portugal with her husband's sister who, at that time, was stationed there in the Foreign Service.

The Wards moved from New Jersey to Virginia and settled in Staunton in 2004 to be more centrally located to all of their children and grandchildren. They joined Trinity Episcopal Church and began taking part in the outreach programs. Ruth immediately formed a group to serve lunch to those in need. She also served as an usher and greeter at the church services.

They also took part in a marvelous visit to the Holy Land in 2009 arranged by their retired rector, which included Egypt, Jordan and Israel.

A dinner invitation from Ruth was not to be taken lightly. She was an excellent cook and hostess. This is partly the reason most of the family migrated to Staunton for the holidays. The other reason is she insisted on it.

A memorial service will be conducted at 2:00 PM on Wednesday, October 8, 2025, at Trinity Episcopal Church in Staunton with the Reverends William “A.J.” Heine and Cara Ellen Modisett officiating.

Inurnment at Thornrose Cemetery will occur prior to the memorial service, beginning at 1:00 PM.

In lieu of flowers, it is suggested that those desiring may make memorial contributions to Trinity Church’s Noon Lunch ministry (PO Box 208, Staunton, VA 24401) or to the Shenandoah Valley Animal Services Center (1001 Mt. Torrey Rd. Lyndhurst, VA 22952).