David Henry Ward

Dave Ward, a Texas news icon whose 60-year broadcasting career shattered viewership records and spanned the black-and-white TV era all the way to High-Definition and live-streaming, died December 13, 2025 in Houston after several years battling medical challenges culminated by a bout of pneumonia. At the time of his passing, he was surrounded by his devoted wife of 23 years, Laura, and his family. Dave was pre-deceased by his parents, Henry and Mary Warren Ward; his half-sister Shirley; and his son David Henry Ward, Jr. He is survived by his beloved wife, Laura Stoma Ward; his sister Mary Joyner of McKinney, Texas; Dave’s children Linda Holley (spouse Jim), Jonathan (wife Margaret), and Christopher (wife Evelyn); his stepchildren Rachelle Rowe, John Rowe (wife Nozomi), and Corey Flores (husband Meech); and his precious grandchildren Mark Heatley, Michael Heatley, Sarah Heatley, Leonardo David Ward, Juaquin Cuauhtemoc Ward, Elliott Flores, Zayde Flores, and Hope Rowe.

A true Texas original, Dave’s legendary broadcasting career was defined by his peerless run as the lead news anchor for the ABC affiliate in Houston, KTRK-TV, where he was recognized in 2013 by the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s longest-serving on-air anchor at the same station. Starting in April of 1968, Ward served as KTRK’s lead news anchor on the station’s 10pm newscast until 2014, and on the 6pm news until his very last newscast on May 2, 2017. Together with the core KTRK news team that eventually consisted of investigative/consumer reporter Marvin Zindler, sportscaster Bob Allen, and meteorologist Ed Brandon, Ward helped guide and lead the most-watched and dominant local news station in the country. Along the way, Dave considered it a privilege to work with three co-anchors he deeply respected – Jan Carson, Shara Fryer and Gina Gaston – and so many of his KTRK colleagues throughout the station whose professionalism and dedication to getting the news right led to their shared success.

Getting the facts right, and doing so consistently – that’s what drove Dave every day he was on the job. “My job has always been to get the story right, and then go on the air and present it in an understandable way to the viewer in as few words as possible,” Ward wrote in his 2019 autobiography, Good Evening, Friends. When helping coach new anchors at KTRK, he would refer to this economy of words in his down-to-earth style as “putting a gallon of news in a pint-sized jar.” Though he never completed a four-year college degree, Dave was a stickler for the correct use of grammar, and he vehemently insisted a news program was not a “show.” Most of all, Dave cared about earning, and keeping, the trust of his viewers. His candor, integrity, and dedication to getting every side to the story made him the most trusted reporter in Houston – “The Dean of Houston News” as his peers in the broadcasting industry widely referred to him.

For six decades as a reporter and anchor, Dave seemingly went everywhere, talked to everyone, and covered just about everything – from the Paris Peace Accords, to the White House and Air Force One, to hurricanes or tornadoes, to fires and floods, to political conventions and elections, to Pope John Paul II’s 1987 visit to Texas, to spaceflight launches and really all things related to NASA. When a devastating 6.3 magnitude earthquake wreaked havoc in Managua, Nicaragua in December of 1972 – leaving tens of thousands dead and injured – Houston and especially its large Nicaraguan community scrambled to offer aid. Days later, Ward and KTRK cameraman Greg Moore joined a precarious relief airflight bringing food and other desperately needed relief supplies from Houston to Managua. Their reporting increased awareness of the destitute situation which eventually led, in March of 1973, to a convoy of five 18-wheelers of supplies heading from Houston to Nicaragua. Ward covered this mission as well, and his ensuing 30-minute documentary, “Managua: An Odyssey of Mercy,” earned Ward and his other photographer on the project, Jim Priest, special commendation from Houston Mayor Louie Welch. “Of all the plaques and awards I’ve received over the years,” Ward later wrote, “I appreciate that one the most because it was the first big recognition that our team at KTRK was making a difference.”

Dave’s service to the community touched every corner of our community. He helped so many worthwhile causes and local organizations, but his pioneering work with Crime Stoppers of Houston was, in the words of one observer, “historic and unparalleled.” Starting in the early 1980s, he served as Crime Stoppers’ most visible and effective booster, and the crime reenactments he presented on-air (with the help of the University of Houston drama department) quickly became the model for similar programs across the country – leading to Crime Stoppers’ national and international expansion. Crime Stoppers so close identified Dave with their organization that they named their Houston headquarters “The Dave Ward Building” when it was dedicated in 2017.

A similar programming innovation for Ward and KTRK was their “Medical Minute” reports featuring the iconic Texas physician, Dr. Red Duke, presenting his down-to-earth, no-nonsense medical advice in short, folksy videos. These early health segments became so popular they were also eventually syndicated nationwide.

On January 1, 1973, after the newly elected Harris County District Attorney Jack Heard fired the assistant DA Marvin Zindler, Ward – who as a radio reporter with KNUZ and later with KTRK had covered countless crime scenes with Zindler – urged the KTRK management to hire the eccentric, flamboyant, but authentic Zindler. The management accepted Dave’s recommendation, and together they never looked back.

From 1972 to 1981, Ward covered the Houston Oilers as their official statistician on the official radio team that included his esteemed friend and competitor from KRPC-TV, Ron Stone, and another broadcasting dynamo, Ron Franklin, who at the time was a sports reporter at Houston’s KHOU-TV. Of course, this timeframe encompassed the Oiler’s heyday “Luv Ya Blue” era, which meant Ward helped cover every game his buddy Dan Pastorini quarterbacked for the Oilers; every game Earl Campbell started at running back; and every game Bum Phillips coached. He loved them all, and also felt close to Hall of Famer Elvin Bethea, kicker Toni Fritsch, and others. Dave also covered the launch of the Houston Texans’ football team in 2000, and remained a die-hard Houston Astros’ fan dating all the way back to their inception in 1962. Astros’ Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell was an especially close and supportive friend.

After reporting the news, helping first responders was the other driving passion of Dave’s life. Law enforcement meant everything to Dave, and he tried to support their work every way he could. Early in his career, he would leave the television station after anchoring the 10pm news to ride with Houston police officers on the graveyard shift as they performed their heroic jobs. Later in life, he would deliver countless meals to local fire stations on Christmas Day – an act of gratitude for their service. He was a lifetime member of the 100 Club, and served on the Houston Police Foundation board started by his close friend Tilman Fertitta.

Dave received numerous awards and accolades both during, and after, his distinguished career. Crime Stoppers of Houston conferred their Leon Goldstein Award on him in 2002. In 2011, he earned the Silver Circle Award from the National Academy of Television, Arts and Sciences/Lone Star Chapter for 25-plus years of “outstanding contribution to the television broadcast community.” In 2016, KTRK named Ward their anchor emeritus, and the Texas Radio Hall of Fame inducted him into its ranks. On February 1, 2017, the same day Crime Stoppers officially named their Houston headquarters building for him, the Texas Rangers also named Dave Ward an honorary Ranger. He received the key to the City of Houston from Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner the day after his final newscast. In 2018, Dave served as the Grand Marshal of the annual Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Parade, an event he covered for 49 years.

In 2007, Dave accepted the one and only Emmy Award of his career – in the Art/Entertainment Special Programs category for a 30-minute feature on his dear friend, fellow Houstonian, and singer-songwriter Steve Tyrell called “A Houston Standard.”

David Henry Ward was born in Dallas on May 6, 1939 to Henry and Mary Warren Ward while his family was living in a Baptist church parsonage in Mineola, TX. His father was an itinerant Baptist preacher who first moved the family to Huntsville, TX – where young Dave recalls living during the outbreak of World War II. It was the only time he saw his stern but loving father cry.

In 1951, the Wards moved to Granite City, IL – a smoggy factory town across the Mississippi River from St. Louis. Dave felt the only redeeming quality to Granite City was the railyard ten blocks from his house, where he spent most afternoons watching an unending procession of trains including the famous Wabash Cannonball. The entire Ward family was relieved when the call came in 1952 inviting Henry Ward to a new parish assignment in Cisco, Texas – 150 miles west of Fort Worth. There, Dave bought his first car (a 1928 Ford Model A Coupe), hunted jackrabbits, and played trumpet in a band with his high school running buddy Dash Crofts, who later became part of the successful music duo “Seals and Crofts.”

In 1956, the Ward family settled in Jacksonville in East Texas, and Dave graduated from Jacksonville High School the following year. By then, he wanted to see more of the world and, recognizing the odd jobs he was working would not support such ambitions, Dave enlisted in the U.S. Navy. Within a month of starting basic training in southern California, however, he was medically discharged.

Back in Jacksonville, Dave’s trumpet playing earned him a full scholarship to attend Tyler Junior College. During this time, Dave started accompanying a fraternity brother, Pat Hughes, to his job as a deejay at KGKB-AM in Tyler. Dave thoroughly enjoyed helping out in the radio studio environment – queuing up records, working the sound board – and a few months later took Pat’s job when Hughes moved to a station in Dallas. Before Ward was officially hired, however, station manager Ed Smith had one condition: Dave could not use his given name, “David,” on air. “It’s too biblical,” Smith explained. “You have to shorten it to Dave – it’s jauntier.” As the new man at KGKB, Dave played Top 40 hits, hosted a Saturday college football call-in show, and launched an afternoon feature called “The Gossip Column” where he read listeners’ messages on-air.

Dave left KGKB in 1960 for WACO-AM in Waco, TX prior to joining KNUZ-AM in Houston as their news director later that same year. The KNUZ team at that time included such Texas broadcasting luminaries as Paul Berlin, Arch Yancey, Jim Carroll, and Joe Ford. In September of 1962, Dave covered President John F. Kennedy’s “We Choose to Go to the Moon” speech at Rice University; and Dave was on the air 14 months later – on November 22, 1963 – providing live updates during the Kennedy assassination in Dallas. At KNUZ, Dave also covered the earliest days of the U.S. space program and the birth of the “eighth wonder of the world,” the Houston Astrodome, which was constructed between 1962 and 1965.

Then on November 6, 1966, Ward jumped from KNUZ and radio over to KTRK and TV news – starting as an assistant news director and street reporter. Within a year of joining KTRK, Dave began anchoring KTRK’s 7 a.m. newscast and also hosting a morning game show called “Dialing for Dollars” featuring a feline clad character, KiTiRiK, played by station colleague Bunny Orsak.

As a radio and TV reporter, Dave covered the election of every U.S. President from John Kennedy in 1960 to Donald Trump in 2016; every Texas Governor from John Connally in 1963 to Greg Abbott in 2014; and every Houston Mayor from Lewis Cutrer in 1961 to Sylvester Turner in 2015. Ward reported the launch of each of NASA’s manned space flights dating back to the Gemini program in April of 1964, and both the very first (on April 12, 1981) and the last (on July 8, 2011) of the Space Shuttle flights – along with so many in between.

Of special note, Dave enjoyed a decades-long friendship with Houston’s First Couple, George and Barbara Bush, whom he interviewed on countless occasions including at their Houston home, on Air Force One, and other venues dating back to his very first visit with the future president outside the GOP National Convention in San Francisco in 1964. Dave was also one of 10 reporters nationwide invited to interview President Barack Obama at The White House in November of 2011. During his career, Dave spoke with noted figures such as President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Bob Hope, Mickey Rooney, Red Adair, Nelson Rockefeller, and Paul Harvey. One of Dave’s most memorable interviews took place in March of 2009, when he interviewed four astronauts and American heroes sitting at the same table: Buzz Aldrin, Jim Lovell, Alan Bean, and Gene Cernan.

Dave loved passenger trains, in large part owing to his grandfather Jesse Warren’s 40 years of service as a Dallas streetcar motorman. In fact, Dave obsessed over all forms of machinery. He was fascinated by planes, and not only earned his pilot’s license in the early 1960s but also flew with the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels on several occasions. He took a strong interest in cars of all kinds, and not only drove some exotic models himself but loved watching his friend and Houston native A.J. Foyt dominate in just about every form of car racing there ever was.

During his own foray into competitive racing, at a celebrity motocross event at the Astrodome in 1974 organized by his dear friend Allen Becker, Dave did not fare as well. A spectacular crash at the finish line left him with a broken shoulder, a broken collar bone, a broken pelvis in four places, and two depressed vertebrae. He was hospitalized for weeks, but eventually resumed some of his reporting duties from his hospital bed before his discharge.

A devastating car crash on Houston’s West Loop in 2003 was even more severe.

There to help Dave recover from this 2003 car crash, and to pull him through numerous health challenges to follow, was the love of Dave’s life, Laura Stoma, whom he had met years before and finally persuaded to marry him on August 3, 2002 after years of courtship. After two previous marriages that ended in divorce, Dave constantly credited Laura with saving his life in so many ways, and really making the last 23 years the best years of his life. “Laura is the most incredible person, male or female, that I have ever met in my life,” Dave said recently, when asked about his wife. “I cannot believe all that she has accomplished for this city, and I have been so grateful to have her by my side for all these years – especially these last few years. It has been my greatest blessing.”

Despite offers from the national TV networks to go to bigger markets and earn more money, Dave remained totally devoted to Houston, and never for a day forgot that he owed any success he had earned to his viewers throughout southeast Texas. In fact, even though it meant valuable time away from his family, he felt he owed it to the viewers not only to work most holidays – but also to emcee the widest range of charity events. Dave’s popularity, talent and professionalism added immeasurably to the overall success of any fundraising event. Few Houston non-profits did not benefit from his generous spirit.

In addition, Dave served as president of Houston Easter Seals Society and hosted several Easter Seals telethons. He was a member of the Houston Business Council, the American Cancer Society, the Leukemia Society, and the Press Club of Houston. He was an Endowed Lifetime Member of the Partnership for Baylor College of Medicine, and served on the Advisory Board of Houston Children’s Charity run by his wife Laura.

Dave opened each of the roughly 25,000 newscasts he anchored with his trademark expression, “Good evening, friends.” His personal connection to his fellow Texans proved this saying was more than just words. Numerous military veterans came to the KTRK station seeking various forms of help, which Dave always provided. If he went to a restaurant and saw firefighters or police officers eating there as well, he picked up their tab. If you ever complimented Dave’s necktie, he usually took it off and gave it to you. Just a few years ago, he donated his sizable collection of World War II books to the Michael DeBakey Veterans Hospital in the Texas Medical Center.

“You couldn’t find anyone who exuded more integrity and goodwill on a community than Dave has done for all those years in Houston,” wrote the CBS Sportscaster Jim Nantz, whose own iconic career in broadcasting started while he was attending the University of Houston in 1980.

Dave’s family offers their heartfelt thanks to Dr. Mohammed Attar, whose extraordinary level of care and commitment to Dave saved his life and kept him going especially these last few years. Of course, the family also thanks Dr. Gerald Laurie, Dr. Alan Lumsden, Dr. Austin Williams and all of the nurses at Methodist Hospital who cared for Dave. Their world-class skill and compassion helped Dave maximize the quality of this last chapter of his full and meaningful life despite the medical challenges he confronted head on. Finally, the family offers heartfelt gratitude to Terrie Burley and Burley’s Home Health Services for her compassionate and loving care of Dave over his last few years.

Funeral services at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church will be livestreamed by KTRK-TV.

In lieu of flowers customary remembrances, donations may be made in Dave’s memory to Crime Stoppers of Houston or to Houston Children’s Charity by selecting their respective link under "Donations" below.

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