Ann Ward

Funeral services for Anna Lou Ward, 86, of Gainesville, are scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 9, 2013 at Geo. J. Carroll & Son Funeral Home with Rev. Don Yeager officiating. Interment will follow at Fairview Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Friday, November 8 at the funeral home.

Mrs. Ward passed away November 3, 2013 in Gainesville.

Mrs. Ward was born February 19, 1927 in Sivells Bend, TX, the third child of Boss and Anna Langford Howell. She attended school in Sivells Bend and Gainesville. On April 29, 1944, she married Cecil Ward in Marietta, OK. Mrs. Ward was a long-time member of First Baptist Church-Gainesville. Many remember Mrs. Ward as owner and operator of the Gainesville Livestock Auction. She was an organizer and charter member of the Gainesville Riding Club, where she also served as Secretary and Treasurer. Mrs. Ward was a 58-year member of the Belle Moon Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star. She was also a dedicated member of the Nature Club and Audubon Society. Mrs. Ward was a passionate raiser of horses and was a skilled equestrian. She was also an avid bird watcher, oil painter, cattle raiser, naturalist, traveler, and gardener.

Mrs. Ward is survived by: daughter, Linda Ellender and husband, Tom, of Gainesville; son, C. Milton Ward, Jr. and wife, Marianne, of Lindsay; grandchildren: Jennifer Steadham and husband, Charles, of Forestburg; Barry Biffle and wife, Brandi, of Medellín, Columbia; Megan Musalo and husband, Ray, of New York, NY; Mitchell Ward, of Houston; and Mason Ward, of Lindsay; great-grandchildren: Emily and Kayley Steadham, of Forestburg; and Banks Biffle, of Medellín, Columbia.

Mrs. Ward was preceded in death by: husband, Cecil Milton Ward, Sr.; grandson, Christopher Matthew Ward; her parents; brother, Houston Howell; and sister, Betty Sue Kennedy.

Family members will be serving as pallbearers.

Memorials may be made to Hagerman Wildlife Refuge at “Friends of Hagerman”, 6465 Refuge Rd., Sherman, TX 75092; American Cancer Society, PO Box 22718, Oklahoma City, OK 73123; or Home Hospice of Cooke County, 316 S. Chestnut St., Gainesville, TX 76240.