Joanne Eva Ward

May 8, 1933 - November 24, 2013

Joanne Eva (Greenlee) Ward, 80, of Ephrata, Washington, passed away peacefully on Sunday, Nov. 24, 2013, with her loving husband, Bill, by her side. Joanne was born to the late Warren and Gertrude Greenlee, May 8, 1933, in Wenatchee, Washington and was raised in Ephrata. Her parents owned and operated Greenlee Furniture. Joanne graduated from Ephrata High School in 1951. Throughout her teen years, Joanne played tennis, babysat neighborhood children, was active in the Methodist church, and served as a Princess on the Ephrata Royalty Court where she poured water down the new Grand Coulee Dam at the opening of the Columbia Basin Project. She attended Whitman College in Walla Walla, Wash. where she was a Tri Delta sister. She met a hard-hitting third baseman for the Fighting Missionaries, William (Bill) C. Ward, and married him in 1953. Their first child, Kevin Ward, was born in Walla Walla in 1954, and following her husband’s entry into the Armed Forces where he was stationed at Schofield Army Base in Hawaii, her second child, Shannon (Ward) Fox, was born in Oahu, Hawaii. Upon discharge, and a brief stay in Spokane, Wash., they moved to Ephrata whereupon Tami (Ward) DiDonato, Colin, and Erin Ward were born. In addition to raising five wonderful children, she finished her Bachelors of Arts degree in Art Education at Central Washington College in Ellensburg, Wash. and was in business with her husband at Ward’s Home Furnishings in Ephrata and Moses Lake Furniture. Joanne was active in the Ephrata community – Campfire, Rainbow for Girls, AFS, and the Ephrata public schools. She celebrated the holidays with art projects for her children and grandchildren, baked goods for her friends and neighbors, and extended a generous hand for those in need. Joanne and Bill were early residents of Blue Lake and enjoyed long summer evenings with friends and family. Although they traveled extensively, they returned to Kauai, Hawaii for many vacations, and prior to her illness, worked together as furniture liquidators throughout the United States. But most of all, Joanne was a devoted and loving wife to her husband, and a doting mother to her children and grandchildren. She is survived by her husband William (Bill) Ward; her brother Eugene Greenlee; her five children; and 11 grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that donations be made to Columbia Basin Hospital Foundation, 200 Nat Washington Way, Ephrata, WA 98823. A memorial will be held at the Ephrata United Methodist Church, 117 C St. NW, on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2013 at 1:30 p.m. followed by fellowship and refreshments.