Earle Gwendolyn Ward

Earle Gwendolyn Ward, 83, of Indianapolis, IN passed away March 5, 2024, after a lengthy hospital stay. She departed this world peacefully, with her devoted children at her side. Born March 7, 1940, in the small, rural town of Ahoskie, NC, Earle was the youngest of seven children and came from humble beginnings. As an adult, she recounted vivid memories of her earliest years living in a home on their family farm and recalled that electricity and indoor plumbing were luxuries that she did not enjoy until later in her childhood, when her family had moved to a home in town. Although material possessions were scarce during her upbringing, the wealth of love in her large family overflowed in abundance. Her parents and six siblings were the core of her world, and she was so grateful to grow up in a loving home where the importance of family, faith, education, integrity, and hard work were the vital values instilled. Earle excelled throughout grade school and graduated high school as valedictorian of her class. She went on to college in Durham, NC, where she earned a bachelor's degree with a major in English. During her time in Durham, she met a dashing alumnus of her college who had subsequently enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. That charming and handsome Airman, Cullen Ward, who was from a town just 22 miles from Ahoskie, was smitten after their first introduction, and he became the love of her life. Earle and Cullen were joined in matrimony on December 26, 1959, when Cullen was 23 years old, and Earle, a beautiful young bride, was “almost 20”. After Earle had graduated from college and Cullen had fulfilled his Air Force enlistment, the couple moved to Washington, D.C., where Cullen started his dental school education. There, Earle initially taught English in an inner-city school, and then went on to work for the federal government. Budgeting every dime and living frugally, the couple worked to stretch every dollar just to pay bills and save enough to pay Cullen’s dental school tuition on Earle’s relatively meager income. Earle and Cullen welcomed their first child, Tamara, shortly after Cullen graduated from dental school in 1966. After Cullen completed his dental internship in 1967, the family moved to Los Angeles, CA, where Cullen completed a residency in Periodontics. During their time in Los Angeles, Earle and Cullen welcomed their second child, Michael, in 1969. After Cullen’s residency, the family moved from Los Angeles to Cleveland, OH for about a year, but left Cleveland’s lovely climate in August 1971 to move to the beautiful Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. so they could be closer to extended family. From 1971 until the early 1980’s, Earle was a stay-at-home mom and homemaker, and she dedicated herself to providing the most loving and truly ideal home for her family. She took such pride in keeping a beautiful and immaculate home and preparing the most delicious meals from scratch—where her “presentation” certainly rivaled that of Martha Stewart. Her culinary talents and knack for transforming the ordinary into something memorable and wonderful were truly a gift. She enjoyed making the “little things” amazing. She baked beautiful and creative cakes for family birthdays, threw themed birthday parties, and she was always at the center of hosting memorable holiday dinners and special celebrations with extended family. Additionally, her impressive array of sewing projects over the years and handmade family gifts ranging from special clothing, an heirloom-worthy bassinet cover and Christening gown, dolls, and well-loved stuffed animals are among the many fruits of her talents she shared that will always be cherished by our family. Her passion was providing an enriched life for her children, filled with involvement in the arts, educational experiences, sports, and other extracurricular activities. She enjoyed taking Tammy to ballet lessons twice weekly for years and devoted countless sewing hours in helping to make costumes for the performances of Tammy’s dance troupe. She also dedicated many years to Tammy’s soccer practices, swim team competitions, and pom and cheerleading practices and competitions. She also enjoyed taking Michael to baseball, basketball, and football practices and competitions throughout his youth, and she ensured that both children had years of music lessons. She and Cullen were the most devoted and proud parents; it would be difficult to find a time that they ever missed a performance, competition, recital, game, etc. While her bachelor’s degree and course work toward a master’s degree were focused on education, Earle had a mind for accounting. She always managed the family finances frugally and was determined to set aside funds to indulge in annual summer family vacations where so many cherished memories were created over the years. From the early 1980’s until 2000, Earle returned to work to supplement the household income. She worked for Montgomery County Public Libraries until her retirement in 2000, at which point she and Cullen relocated to Indianapolis, where Tammy and her husband had settled. It was there that Earle and Cullen established their final home and delighted in pouring their love and devotion into the lives of their cherished grandchildren. For Earle and Cullen, their family was their world. Nothing brought them more pleasure and pride than being actively involved in their children’s and grandchildren’s lives and sharing in all the special milestones and celebrations, but they also relished participating in all their more routine activities as well. Regardless of distance, they made every effort to be present for every important event in their grandchildren’s lives, including all performances, sports competitions, academic awards nights, etc., from preschool through college graduations. Their love and devotion to family was paramount, and their love and dedication to transforming the ordinary into extraordinary family experiences will be treasured forever. Earle was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 54 years, Cullen, and by both of her parents, her four sisters, and her two brothers. She is survived by her loving children, Tammy (and her husband, Steve), and Michael, her four grandchildren (Brittany, Nicholas, Emerson, and Andrew), and by numerous nieces and nephews, and all their respective children and grandchildren. Memorial services will include a visitation on Friday, March 15, 2024, from 5:00PM – 8:00PM at Leppert Mortuary (740 East 86th Street Indianapolis, IN 46240), and funeral on Saturday, March 16 at 12:00PM at Second Presbyterian Church (7700 North Meridian Street Indianapolis, IN 46260). Final calling will be held at the church from 11:00AM-11:30AM, prior to the funeral service. Committal will occur at Oaklawn Memorial Gardens (9700 Allisonville Road Indianapolis, IN 46250) immediately following the funeral. In keeping with Earle’s wishes, if you desire to send flowers, please note that her preference was for all-white arrangements. Any floral deliveries should be sent to Leppert Mortuary (740 East 86th Street, Indianapolis).