Mark William Ward

1964 - 2016

MARK WILLIAM WARD passed away November 29, 2016 at his home in Riverside, CA. He is survived by his parents, Carole J. Ward and James D. Ward, of Riverside. He is also survived by his sister, Kelly Thulin of Atascadero (and her husband Roger); his brother, Bruce Ward, of Redlands, and two nephews, Blake Thulin of Santa Barbara and Shane Thulin of Atascadero. Mark was born in San Bernardino on November 9, 1964 but spent his entire life in Riverside. He attended Alcott and Gage Middle School and graduated from Poly High School in 1982. He graduated from Menlo College in Palo Alto in 1987. At the time of his passing he was employed by the City of Riverside Public Utilities Department where he had worked for the bulk of his career. Mark was a writer and specialist in customer communications. Prior to settling on his writing and public utilities career, he had been employed by, inter alia, March Field Air Museum and the Riverside Press-Enterprise. While at Menlo College, he was the sports editor of the college paper. After graduating, he worked as a sports editor for local newspapers in Riverside County. Through these contacts, he acquired his lifelong love of sports. He was a fan of auto racing and loved to attend races including the Long Beach Grand Prix. Probably his greatest passion was the Anaheim Ducks. He had season tickets for years and never missed watching his beloved Ducks on television. Because his mother had graduated from the University of Southern California, he was also a devoted fan of the Trojans football team. While watching any of his favorite teams, he was able to go to a closet and get a team jersey to wear. He had a huge collection of jerseys as well as a great deal of other sports memorabilia. Mark loved the music of his generation and he often attended concerts of the celebrated performers of the day. Once again, he collected memorabilia from the music world and his home was festooned with pictures, posters and photographs. He had a collection of hundreds of vintage 33 record albums and a good turntable for playing them. Most significantly, Mark was a writer and he left files full of his prose and poetry. This was a hobby he shared with his father. Mark's writing was personal and deep and his family is only on his death able to fully grasp the emotional depth of his character. He had the unusual talent of being able to swiftly write upside-down and backwards. He left diaries and log books written in that fashion. There will be an open-house, memorial celebration of life at Mark's parents' home at 6272 Tecate Drive, Riverside from 1:00 to 4:00 PM on Sunday, December 11, 2016. Friends of Mark and the family are welcome to attend. In lieu of flowers the family would be happy if people remembered Mark by a donation to Victoria Avenue Forever, Riverside or the American Diabetes Association.