Phoebe Ward

1925 - 2017

Phoebe "Betty" Ward

HOPEWELL JUNCTION - Phoebe Elizabeth ("Betty") Driscoll Ward died on Good Friday, April 14, 2017. She was 91 years old and had been a resident of Wingate at Dutchess in Fishkill since February 2010. Formerly a resident of Hopewell Junction for nearly 50 years, she was predeceased by her husband of 54 years, Frank K. Ward on December 24, 2010.

Betty was born May 19, 1925 in Lawrence, MA, the daughter of Charles Edward and Adeline Phoebe Walker Driscoll. A 1947 graduate of Simmons College in Boston, MA with a B.S. degree in Chemistry, Betty met her husband, Frank, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where she was working for the professor overseeing Frank's dissertation for his Ph.D. in organic chemistry. Frank retired from the Texaco Research Center in Beacon in 1994 after more than 32 years with the company.

Betty was a life-long member of the American Association of University Women (AAUW), and an active volunteer in the local community. She was a Girl Scout troop leader in the 1960s and 1970s, and served as a member of the Dutchess County Girl Scouts Board of Directors. A long-standing member of the Melzingah Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), Betty was Chapter Regent from 1983 - 1986. She frequently served as a tour guide at the Madam Brett Homestead in Beacon, an American Revolution-era museum listed on the U.S. Register of National Historic Places that was purchased by the DAR's Melzingah Chapter in 1954 to prevent it from being demolished to make way for a supermarket. Betty was also actively involved in the Fortnightly Book Club in Poughkeepsie.

Betty is survived by a daughter and son-in-law, Katherine and Jeffrey Feld of Short Hills, NJ; a daughter and son-in-law, Elizabeth "Betsy" and Dr. Steven White of Irvine, CA; a son and daughter-in-law, Francis K. Ward III and Maria Saraceno Ward of Hopewell Junction, NY; and her six grandchildren, Deborah and James Feld, Allison, Carolyn, Andrea and Christopher White. Betty will be fondly remembered as a loving wife, mother and grandmother who was an inspiration to all those who knew her.

The family would like to express their gratitude to the staff of the Wingate at Dutchess and Hudson Valley Hospice for their compassionate care.

Calling hours will be held on Saturday from 2-5pm at the McHoul Funeral Home, Inc., 895 Route 82, Hopewell Junction. The Mass of Christian Burial will be offered on Monday at 10am at St. Mary, Mother of the Church, 106 Jackson Street, Fishkill followed by interment in St. Denis Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Melzingah Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, 50 Van Nydeck Avenue, Beacon, NY 12508. Please visit Betty's Book of Memories at www.mchoulfuneralhome.com.