Betty “Louise” Ward was born Dec. 7, 1934, in Oklahoma City, Okla., and passed away Dec. 13, 2020, in Vancouver, Wash., with her beloved husband of 67 years and her daughters at her side.
Louise was born to Marvin and Lucille Haines and primarily grew up in California. As a teenager, Louise and her family resided for a time in Ridgefield, Wash. While living in Ridgefield in March of 1953, Louise met the love of her life, Jack, on a blind date while he was on leave from the United States Navy. Jack and Louise became engaged within three weeks of that meeting and eloped three months later May 31,1953. They were wed at the historic Hitching Post Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Jack’s work as a radar technician took him and Louise to many places. They lived in Oklahoma, New Mexico and Colorado before settling in Battle Ground, Wash., most specifically Dollars Corner, to raise their family. Louise gave birth to four daughters, Vickie (Randy) Hagedorn of Arizona, Debbie Ward of North Carolina, Lorilee (Bob) Marshall of Vancouver, Wash., and Carla (Brian) Hurst of Anacortes, Wash. These daughters began a legacy of “Ward Girls” for the Ward family. Louise’s daughters have seven daughters and only one son between them. These grandchildren have now brought seven additional great granddaughters into the family.
Although Louise did not complete her formal education, she was very proud when she achieved her GED at the age of 40 and always emphasized to her four daughters the importance of education. Louise worked several jobs throughout her life. Her favorite was working with students in the Battle Ground School District as an aide. Louise’s true occupation and the one that brought her the most pride, was that of a homemaker. However, she was so much more than that name sometimes evokes. She was a bonafide domestic goddess and mother extraordinaire; she was our everything.
Louise was joyful, loving and happy. She was never afraid to laugh at herself and always willing to put up with a bit of playful teasing. Young at heart, she approached life with the pureness of a child’s soul. Fiercely loyal, she loved her family to her core and would do anything to protect them. She surrounded all of us with the softest, but strongest embrace and worked tirelessly making sure her family was taken care of completely. She consistently put others first and no matter the time or distance, was always there to celebrate our achievements and tell us how proud she was of us. Louise loved family traditions, the holidays, time spent at the beach, reading a good mystery, movies, shopping, pets (she had many) and babies. COVID prevented her from holding the three newest great-granddaughters, but oh how she would have loved to cuddle them.
Louise was preceded in death by her parents, Marvin and Lucille Haines; brother, Harold Haines; and granddaughter, Kelsey Taylor.
She is survived by her husband, Jack; the aforementioned daughters; grandchildren, Emily (Jared) Suddock, Erin (Bobby) Hinze, Drew (Ann) Griffin, Kayla (Erik) Torgerson, Kenzie (Jace) Hardy, Austin (Neal) Kapur, Leah (Charles) Taylor and Chloe Roberts; great-granddaughters, Lacey Hinze, Millie and Lyla Smith, Adelyn Suddock, Eve Griffin, Carson Kapur and Norah Torgerson; as well as her brother, Lloyd Haines; and many nieces and nephews.
Due to COVID restrictions, a private family service will be held at Evergreen Memorial Gardens. A celebration of life to honor Louise will be planned for a later date. Donations in lieu of flowers can be made in Louise’s memory to Cure Alzheimer’s Fund at: www.curealz.org/outreach/in-memory/betty-louise-ward/.
