Dr. Richard Elwood Ward

Dr. Richard Elwood Ward passed away on Feb. 23, 2021.

Dick touched all who knew him with his generosity, good humor, kindness and gentle spirit. He was born in Easton, Pennsylvania, to Arlene and Harlow Ward on Jan. 19, 1942.

Dick was an Eagle Scout, athlete, actor and chorister at Central Dauphin High School (1962), before attending Pennsylvania State University (BS Industrial Engineering 1964), and West Virginia University (PhD Engineering 1975). He joined the SAE fraternity, where he made life-long friends.

Dick married Diane Rogers in 1965 and they had three children — Shannon Earle, Jennifer Croskrey and Kevin Ward— and nine grandchildren.

Dick taught engineering at WVU until 1986, then served as VP of Education at the Material Handling Industry of America. In 2006, Dick and Diane joined their daughter Jen in Whitefish, where they established a small farm and quickly became part of the community. For many years they sold their merino wool at the farmers market and they were members of the Whitefish United Methodist Church. Dick served on the board of the Alpine Theatre Project, was a substitute teacher, a regular patron of Montana Coffee Traders and local breweries and was well-loved in the community.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to The Alpine Theatre Project at https://atpwhitefish.org/.