Charles Samuel Ward

Charles Samuel Ward, 88, of Price Hill, went home to be with the Lord Saturday, June 30, 2012, after battling a long illness. Born Dec. 8, 1923, at Greenwood Mountain, Lawton, W.Va., he was the son of the late Davis and Ora Ward. Charles served as the Sunday School Superintendent and Adult Sunday School Teacher at the Price Hill Freewill Baptist Church for 19 years and at the North Sand Branch Freewill Baptist Church for 15 years. Charles has been a member of the Maple Fork Baptist Church since he early 1990’s. He was a proud and devoted member of the United Mine Workers of America and recently obtained recognition as a 70-year member with the presentation of a 70-Year Membership Pin presented to him at the UMWA headquarters at Raleigh Hill, Beckley, W.Va., by Everett Acord, President of Local No.. 7086. Charles also served as an Officer for the UMWA Safety and Mine Committee for many years. He was blessed with 42 1/2 years of employment as an underground coal miner and a survivor of the 1966 Siltix Mine explosion at Mount Hope, W.Va. He retired from the New River Coal Company in 1982. Charles enjoyed hunting, fishing, camping, going to flea markets and would spend endless hours woodworking in his workshop. Most importantly, he enjoyed serving the Lord and was a devoted father and husband and had a great appreciation for the importance of family. Charles was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 61 years, Beulah Mae Poe Ward; his beloved son, Charles Layton Ward; four brothers, Franklin Ward, Billy Ward, Gilbert Ward and Willard Ward; three sisters, Audrey Call, Joy Bowles, and Arlena Ward. Those left to cherish his memory are his daughter, Theresa Pittman and husband, Benny of Maple Fork Road, daughter, Judy Dunbar and husband, Henry of Beckley; eight grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-granddaughter. Services will be 1 p.m. Friday, July 6, 2012, at the Maple Fork Baptist Church, 1288 Maple Fork Road, Mount Hope, W.Va., with Pastor Jim Bowyer and Dean Russell, Charles’ grandson, officiating. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service. Great grandsons will serve as pallbearers. Burial will follow at the Garden of Everlasting Life located within Blue Ridge Memorial Gardens, Prosperity, W.Va. The family would like to express their gratitude to the staff of Genesis Health Care, Hilltop, W.Va., Bowers Hospice House, Beckley, W.Va. and to Pastor Jim Bowyer and members of the Maple Fork Baptist Church. In lieu of flowers the family asks that donations be made to the Bowers Hospice House, 456 Cranberry Dr., Beckley, W.Va. Arrangements by Tyree Funeral Home, Mount Hope.