Joseph T. Ward

Joseph T. Ward, age 71, the youngest son of Larry and Doris Ward, passed away at home in Sun City West, Arizona on August 10, 2021, after a long illness.

Joe grew up in New Raymer, Colorado, where his grandparents Thomas and Lillian operated the Raymer Drugstore. The small business, where the family also lived, was a hub of activity for the fifty or so locals and area farmers and ranchers. It was replete with a soda fountain, candy counter and eating area – a quintessential go-to place where those in need could find emergency medical care, basic supplies, a post office, and, for a short time, the only phone in town.

After graduating from Longmont High School in 1967, Ward joined the US Marine Corps. Graduating Honor Man at boot camp, he completed specialized rifle training at Camp Pendleton and went on to serve as an elite scout sniper in Vietnam where he received two Purple Hearts. Ward was honorably discharged in 1970 at the rank of Corporal. In the years that followed, he worked as a field engineer in eastern Colorado’s booming oil industry. Like many returning Vietnam veterans, he lived most of his adult life with the debilitating effects of severe PTSD. Joseph T. Ward’s wartime memoirs, Dear Mom: A Scout Sniper's Vietnam were published in 1991 by Ivy Books, a division of Random House. The original photos and letters home to his mother that documented his tour of duty in Vietnam are housed at the National Archives – USMC History Division.

Joe is survived by his wife of 30 years, Rita; son Chance; daughter Chelsa Ward & husband Craig Lee; granddaughter Kelsi; brother Larry Clay, his wife Kay & her sister Mary McCormick, their children Mark & Kelli; grandchildren Jake, Brooklyn & Paige; his father’s wife Alice Ward; sisters-in-law Celia Jones, Karen Bankston, and her husband Curt; and Brian & Eric Fell.

Joseph T. Ward will be laid to rest at 10:30 a.m. on October 19th, 2021, at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona, 23029 N Cave Creek Road, Phoenix, AZ, 85024. Donations on Ward’s behalf may be sent to the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, 18900 Jefferson Davis Hwy., Triangle, VA 22172 (www.marineheritage.org), and to Judicial Watch, 425 Third Street SW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20024 (www.judicialwatch.org).