Funeral services for Yvonne Lenore Ward, 97 of Fairview, will be 10:00 a.m. Monday, August 6, 2012 at the Central Christian Church. The Reverend Ronnie Hopkins will officiate. Burial will follow in the Fairview Cemetery. . Arrangements are by Fairview Funeral Home, Inc.
Visitation will be at the funeral home Sunday, August 5, 2012 from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Arrangements are by the Fairview Funeral Home Inc.
Yvonne Lenore Ward was born in Fairview on June 24, 1915 to LeRoy and Mary Kathryn (Harmon) Willits and passed away August 2, 2012 at the Fairview Fellowship Home.
Yvonne was very learned and intelligent. She subsequently moved through school at a very fast pace. At the young age of 15 she graduated from Fairview High School with the Class of 1931. While in school her interests included drama and art. Her favorite subject to paint was birds as evidenced in her numerous paintings of wildlife. Due to her young age at graduation she and her parents decided it would be a good idea to wait awhile before entering college. Around the age of 18 she began college at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. In 1936 she married Cecil Ward and took another break from college. She completed her BA in Education in 1939 and began teaching full time in Fairview in 1951 and continued her career there for 17 years. Cecil passed away in 1956 at a young age. Yvonne remained in Fairview until 1970 when she moved to Farmington, New Mexico. There, she taught the Navajo Indians the English language and also taught school at Bloomfield, NM. 1982 brought her back to her home in Fairview where she lived a few years before moving to Enid, Oklahoma. In Enid she enjoyed supporting the Gaslight theatre. She was a set builder, an actress and a gifted soprano. While in Enid she completed her Masters Degree in Education at Phillips University. She soon moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma to be close to family and provide nurturing care for her grandchildren. After over eleven years there, her age dictated moving back to her hometown of Fairview where she remained until her passing. She loved music and gardening but most of all she loved spending time with her grandchildren. She was the classic grandmother in all senses of the word. She will be greatly missed by all those she touched in this life.
Yvonne is survived by three sons: Clark Ward of McAlester, OK, Roger and Diana Ward of Fairview, OK and Perry and Anne Ward of Tulsa, OK, a brother Vern and Ann Willits of Fairview, OK, eight grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, one son Norman Lee Ward, one sister Jewel Lowder and one daughter-in-law Pat.
Memorials may be made to the Central Christian Church or the Fairview Schools with Fairview Funeral Home Inc. acting as custodians.