David Patrick Ward

This is a story about a son, a brother, a husband, a dad, a grandfather, a soldier, a friend … and a fighter.

David Ward was all of those.

He was born Jan. 19, 1951, and grew up in Willoughby, Ohio. When he was eight years old, David was hit by a car while he was riding a bike. He fought through months of rehabilitation after his devastating injuries, including a badly broken leg.

As a teenager, having seen his brother Rick decorated for heroism during the Vietnam War, David enlisted in the U.S. Army. He served his country in the Military Police Corps, accepting multiple deployments to Asia and Europe, and earning several decorations of his own. After his military career ended, he continued to serve his country in the U.S. Department of Energy.

He was a lifelong avid fisherman, having learned from Rick (who was far less successful at actually catching fish).

For decades, David enjoyed working at the Wagon Wheel Flea Market on weekends where he made dozens of friends. David made friends wherever he went, whether they liked it or not.

David had the uncanny ability to zero in on fellow Ohioans. He would chat with them for hours about his hometown and home state. Most of them appreciated it.

He also had a somewhat edgy sense of humor, and rarely thought twice about telling a bawdy or inappropriate joke. Most of them appreciated that, too.

David always seemed to be in the right place at the right time. He saved people’s lives on several occasions. He neither sought nor received accolades for it.

His many friends knew they could count on his generosity and kindness. And an off-color joke.

In fact, most people who knew David appreciated him. Everyone else loved him. In a world in which good men are sometimes in short supply, David was one.

Above all this, David loved his family.

He cherished his wife of 46 years, Susan. It was a relationship that almost didn’t happen, since asking her out on their first date turned out to be as difficult as anything the Army made him do.

At the time, Susan was an Army Military Policewoman. On their first date, David took her to see a Disney film called, “The Littlest Horse Thieves.”

He was a loving father to John (wife Alana) and Jennifer. He was an adoring grandfather to Davey, Guire, Jonene, and Mikayla. He was a devoted brother and son.

Perhaps the thing that people most identified with David was his love for his hometown, Cleveland, Ohio, and its football and baseball teams. “Who Let the Dogs Out,” the battle cry for many fans of the National Football League’s Cleveland Browns, was a constant companion for David as he founded and led for many years the Browns Backers of Pinellas, one of the most successful NFL official booster clubs in the world. Through David’s leadership, the club raised tens of thousands of dollars for worthy causes in the Tampa Bay Area.

During David’s lifetime, the Browns did not win a Super Bowl. Major League Baseball’s Cleveland Indians never won a Word Series during his lifetime, either. Cleveland has had more than its share of woeful sports franchises. Yet he never gave up on his beloved teams, even after relocating to Florida and the Tampa Bay Area, where he lived since 1981.

It was that same fighting spirit that became the hallmark of David’s long and courageous battle against cancer. He finally passed away, with Susan, John, Jennifer, and Mikayla by his side at his home in Seminole, on July 2, 2025.

David was predeceased by his mother Joycelaine, father John, sister Joycelaine, and brother Richard. Along with his wife, children, grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews, he is survived by sisters Pamela, Dawn, and Janet.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation to adopt the fourth-grade class taught by his daughter, Jennifer Ward, at Cross Bayou Elementary School. Information on donating can be found at https://gofund.me/eae2ccd8

Two memorial services are scheduled for Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, at: 1. Bay Pines National Cemetery, 10000 Bay Pines Boulevard in St. Petersburg, at 1:30 p.m.; 2. Quaker Steak and Lube restaurant, 10400 49th Street North in Pinellas Park/Clearwater, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.