Thomas W. Ward

Thomas Winston Ward At work, they called him TW. He was humorous, outgoing, generous, strong, a stranger to no one. Thomas was 69; would be 70 on March 15. I was hoping to have all his kids here to celebrate his 70th. Lived on the same block in Denver since 1986. Died in Denver on February 16, 2010. Thomas was born in Laurel, Mississippi to Venora Mayers. They moved to New Orleans when he was 4 years old and his mother married Allen Kimball. He is survived by his wife, Wendy; children Dominique, Jason, Danielle, Heather and Shawn. Four grandchildren, Paige, Reese, Maya and Andrew. Six siblings, Carolyn, Marsha, Barbara, Beverly, Allen and Alvin. And numerous nieces and nephews. He got his first job when he was 12 as a delivery boy for a local store. He also worked as a butcher for a period of time. He forged signatures when he was 17 to join the army. He rose to Master Sergeant of the 101st Airborne, 1st Cavalry Division and earned Sr. Parachutist ranking in March 1965. He was stationed in Ramstein, Germany and was deployed to Vietnam in May of 1965. According to his jump log, he entered Vietnam by parachuting out of a helicopter into An-Kho, Vietnam on May 11, 1965. The last entry in his jump log was dated 12/2/65 into PlaKu, Vietnam. He earned the Vietnam Service Medal, Marksmanship Badge and Parachutist Badge. He was honorably discharged on April 26, 1966, and returned to New Orleans, Louisiana where he married and had three children, Dominique, Jason and Danielle. During this time he also worked full time as a bus operator for New Orleans Pubic Transit and attended Louisiana State University in New Orleans, better known as UNO. Tom and his wife divorced and he moved to Denver in 1978. He met his wife, Wendy, in the 1982 at a bus stop at 64th and Ward. Road. They were married in Las Vegas in 1987. A year later, their daughter Heather was born and 17 months later their son, Shawn, arrived. Tom worked as a bus operator for RTD for 1978 to 1993 when he transferred to the newly formed Light Raid Division. He remained at the Light Rail Division as a Light Raid Controller / Scada Controller until his retirement in 2005. Tom spent his retirement visiting his children, Dominique, Jason and Danielle, and four grandchildren in New Orleans and Lake Charles, Louisiana. He is known as Tom the Tool Man in his Park Hill neighborhood and spent much of his time maintaining his yard and planting flowers. While he complained about the yard work, we know he was very proud of his yard. I really think the yard work was an excuse to talk to all his friends and neighbors and spoil their children. Tom loved talking to people and would speak with anyone walking to the park. He loved flirting with the women, and he loved babies and children. He was a handyman and could fix just about anything. He was also a superb grill master with BBQ ribs and steaks. He also taught his wife a lot about Southern cooking and Red Beans and Rice is a favorite in the Ward household. He liked being outdoors in nice weather, photography, computers, movies, pets and internet shopping. Tom didn't have a lot of pet peeves, but laziness would be at the top of the list. Making excuses, chewing ice, the phrase, ""I dunno"", mumbling, ignorance, racism and blaming someone else for your lot in life. He also had issues with women who cut their hair. He was proud of his children and their accomplishments. Tom wanted his children to not have to work as hard as he worked and continued to remind his children that the key to that life is education. Memorial Service, 10:30 a.m., Monday, February 22, Horan & McConaty Family Chapel, 1091 South Colorado Blvd. Denver.