Ward H. Lee

December 4, 1944 – April 27, 2025

Beaumont – Ward Hamilton Lee, 80, died Sunday, April 27, 2025. He passed away peacefully in his sleep, holding one of his favorite toys, after an ongoing battle with aspiration pneumonia.

Ward was born in Port Arthur, Texas, in 1944 to Lloyd and Edith Lee. Born with challenging physical and mental birth defects, Ward was a much-loved son who was the center of his family’s universe. His parents, and his older brother, Bill, worked hard to include Ward in all family activities, often choosing to make Ward’s passions their own.

Ward loved trains, which meant his family spent countless hours sitting near train tracks throughout Port Arthur, Nederland and Beaumont just so Ward could watch the trains go by and listen to their sounds, which made him smile from ear to ear while clapping loudly.

Ward loved malted milkshakes, which meant countless trips to Sonic and Dairy Queen to enjoy his favorite treat (much to the pleasure of his nieces, Tracy and Heather, when they visited from South Carolina).

Ward loved music of all kinds, which meant the Lee home was always filled with various genres of music, depending on what mood his mother, Edith, felt he was in. It also meant that he loved music-based toys and could often be found strumming a small toy guitar with one hand or turning the dial of a music box with one finger while he eagerly waited for the “jack-in-the-box” to pop out…only to repeatedly start over again.

Ward loved the outdoors and fresh air. This meant endless hours of riding around with his father in his pickup truck with the windows rolled down; long days of sitting in a swing and soaking up the sun in his Nederland home’s backyard while his mother worked in her flower garden; and memorable weekends sitting under a tree looking out onto the water of his family’s Toledo Bend Reservoir camp/lake home.

Ward lived at home, first in Port Arthur and then Nederland, with his parents for more than 50 years, before losing his father in 1997 to cancer. Eventually, as his then sole in-home caregiver (his mother, Edith) began to struggle with orthopedic issues, he slowly transitioned to living in a group home in Beaumont with similarly intellectually and developmentally disabled adults. Run by the non-profit healthcare organization Spindletop Center, Ward thrived sharing a home with his newfound friends and caregivers who were like family. Ward was not new to Spindletop, though, as he had benefited from their day school program for years.

Ward lived in the Spindletop group home until recently, when his health began to decline and he was placed in the care of Harbor Hospice.

The family would like to extend its most heartfelt appreciation to all those who work for Spindletop and were a part of Ward’s life. The love and care extended to Ward throughout the last few decades will forever be a testament to his long life.

The family would also like to thank the staff at Harbor Hospice and Harbor Hospice House, whose compassionate care was essential.

A graveside service will be held 10 a.m., Wednesday, April 30, at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Beaumont. Family will receive friends immediately after the service. Forest Lawn Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.

Those left to cherish Ward’s memory include his sister-in-law, Brenda Lee of Lexington, SC; nieces Tracy Lee McKelvey (Steve) of Columbia, SC, and Heather Lee Kennerly (John), of Bennettsville, SC; grandnieces Elise McKelvey of Philadelphia, PA, and Autumn and Bridget Kennerly, of Greenville, SC; as well as dozens of cousins throughout Texas. Ward was predeceased by his brother, William (Bill) Lee of Lexington, SC, and his parents, Lloyd and Edith Lee of Nederland.