Loran V. Ward
May 12, 1920 - February 21, 2009

Loran V. Ward, 88, long-time high school football coach and educator, passed away Saturday, February 21, 2009 in the Emogene Dolin Jones Hospice House, Huntington after a brief illness. Funeral services will be conducted 2:00 pm Tuesday, February 24, 2009 at Chapman�s Mortuary, Huntington. Mr. Ward was born on May 12, 1920, in Jean, Lawrence County, KY. Of his immediate family, Mr. Ward is survived by: brother Todd Ward and his wife Carol; brother Jack Ward; sister Ginny Ward Thompson and Ernie; sister Celia Ward Little; son James Loran Ward and his wife Tina; three grandchildren: Noah Alexander Ward, Faith Alexandra Ward, and Danielle Lauren Ward; and numerous nieces and nephews located throughout Kentucky, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia. Mr. Ward is preceded in death by his father, Lonnie J. Ward; mother, Ertle Mae Kitchen Ward; three brothers, Lonnie Edgel Ward, Martin Van Buren Ward, and John Wesley Ward; two sisters Ollie Joy Ward Pritchard and Lottie Faye Ward Brumfield; a daughter, Alice Caroline "Becky" Ward Smallwood; first wife, Alice Caroline Dawson Ward; and second wife, Anita Hayes Adams Ward. He is also survived by his "second family", the countless players and fellow football coaches at both the high school and college levels across the country that know him simply as Coach Ward. Coach Ward earned his BS in Physical Education from Concord College, Athens, WV, in 1948, and his Masters in Physical Education from West Virginia University in 1950. During the course of his career he coached high school football for fifty-five years in the states of Florida, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. Of particular note are the following former head football coaches that Coach Ward held in very high esteem: Nick Hilgert, Dick Claypool, Mark Bendorf, Rick Wells, and Carl Ward. Many of Coach Ward's players have gone on to successful careers as coaches, dentists, lawyers, businessmen, and senior military officers. Coach Ward believed strongly that he was a "teacher of life", and tried to influence every player to be the best he could be in all aspects of life. He lived by a number of mottoes, most notably, "Actions, not words, make the man", and "Together, we can". His greatest achievements include, but are not limited to: the 1936 boxing champion, Sharples High School, Logan County, WV; Captain of the Sharples High School football, basketball and boxing teams of 1939; 175 pound boxing champion of the Army Air Corps base in Frederick, OK in 1943; nose-gunner on a B-24 heavy bomber of the 783rd Bomb Squadron, 465th Bomb Group, 15th Army Air Force, based in Italy that flew missions over enemy targets in Europe during WWII; member of the 3rd Army Air Force Championship Football Team of 1945; Captain of the 1947 Concord College football team; Coach of the Year in 1979 as the head football coach of Fairfax High School in Fairfax, Virginia; induction into the Fairfax County, Virginia, Football Hall of Fame in 1995; surviving pancreatic cancer surgery in 1996; Offensive Line and Special Teams Coach for the 1997 Virginia State Football High School Champion Robinson Rams; and ending his high school coaching career as a special teams coach for Spring Valley High School in 2002 at the age of 81. Throughout his career, he was always proud to be called "Coach". Friends may call from noon to service time Tuesday at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, Mr. Ward has requested that donations be made to the Emogene Dolin Jones Hospice House, 3100 Staunton Road, Huntington, WV 25702