Colonel Richard D. Ward II, USAF

December 10, 1946 – December 5, 2024

Richard “Rick” Ward was born on December 10, 1946 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Rick was the beloved son to Barbara "Bobbie" Antoinette Lappe and Thomas "Coley" Coleman Ward, Jr. 

Rick and his older brother Tom, older sister Barbara “DeeDee”, and younger sister Tina spent most of their childhood in Ligonier Pennsylvania. Rick attended Avon boarding school and enjoyed volunteering at a special needs camp during his summer breaks. The four siblings enjoyed riding horses, hunting, fishing and spending time with family. Rick was an excellent athlete. He excelled at wrestling, soccer, baseball and cross-country earning letters in all four sports in high school. He was also a dedicated student, with a particular passion for math and science.

The family suffered the tragic loss of their mother, Barbara, in 1966 at the age of 43. This brought them closer together, instilling in them the importance of family. Throughout his life, Rick dedicated himself to strengthening the bonds of our family and ensuring we understood the importance of staying close.

Rick attended Bethany College, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1968.  After graduation, he and a few college buddies embarked on cross-country journey to explore America. In an unlikely turn of fate, this young man, born on the East Coast and educated in boarding and private schools, met a young woman raised by a cowboy and ranch hand on the West Coast. They crossed paths at Eaton’s Ranch in Montana where Dyana was working. Despite coming from such different worlds, love brought them together, and they were married in 1971.

Knowing that he would probably soon be drafted to serve in Vietnam, Rick made the decision to follow in his brother Tom's footsteps and enlisted in the Air Force in 1969.  He attended Officer Candidate School with the ambition of becoming a pilot, a goal he achieved after completing flight training and earned him the callsign "Fiddler".  He was sent to Vietnam in 1971 where he flew T-39A Sabreliners in 'Scatback', the combat courier airlift system. 

 In 1972, another tragedy struck the Ward family when Rick’s father, Thomas, passed away far too young. Rick returned home from Vietnam, and although his post college plans had been to become a banker, Rick’s love for flying led him to remain in the military.

In 1973, Rick and Dyana had their son, Richard Ian Ward. Rick continued to thrive in the military, quickly advancing through the ranks due to his focus, attention to detail, and organizational skills. The family moved often and got to experience life in many different parts of America and overseas, including Korea and Germany.  Although it was often difficult, Rick made it a priority to keep his siblings close, organizing frequent family gatherings to stay connected.

Rick flew the A10 “Warthog” for most of his career and flew missions in Desert Storm in 1991 as the squadron commander in Leipheim, Germany. After leaving Germany in 1992 the family moved back to the states where Rick transitioned into the space warfare center at Langley AFB in Virginia.

In 1993, after a long battle with Crohn’s disease, the family lost the eldest brother Thomas Coleman Ward III.

After 26 years of service Rick retired from the Air Force as a Colonel while living in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He began working at Raytheon in 1997 as a director of business development and moved to Parker. Rick loved Colorado and the mountains. In his free time he was a volunteer ski patroller at Keystone Mountain Resort, member of several organizations and boards, and volunteered at his local church, The Rock. His energy was boundless. His commitment to giving back to the community and less fortunate was humbling to witness. Throughout all this Rick NEVER lost sight of what was most important to him…Family. He was always organizing family get-togethers, vacations and events.

In 2008 everything changed for Rick as his son Richard and Daughter-in-law Jennifer gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, Andrew Ryan Ward. Rick would henceforth be known as PAPA Ward!! He relished this role and never missed an opportunity to be at Andrew’s many sporting and school events.

Later that year, Rick was diagnosed with head and neck cancer. He won the battle, but the treatment took a significant toll. The chemotherapy and radiation damaged his jaw, requiring a bone graft from his shin along with a plate and several screws to repair.  The treatments also caused severe damage to his throat and upper vertebrae - issues that led to serious complications in his later years.

Sadly, in 2012 Rick lost his beloved brother-in-law Courtnay Roberts (his sister Barbara’s husband). Only 3 days later his baby sister Tina passed away after a long battle with cancer. These events profoundly impacted Rick, deepening his commitment to his faith and family. He joined Southeast Christian Chruch, and immersed himself in volunteering, bible study, and his life group. Rick was relentless in his pursuit to build and strengthen his family and community. He not only organized and planned family events but even started a monthly cul-de-sac BBQ in his neighborhood. He could often be seen in the winter snow blowing his neighbors driveways, helping out with the church’s community garden, cooking at the church’s breakfast and working on the A-team at the church that helped single mothers with home repairs, moving, or anything else they needed.

In 2018 Rick’s health began to decline. He was diagnosed with congestive heart failure, and he began to lose feeling and strength in his right arm. This was due to compressed vertebrae in his neck as a result of the radiation used to help treat his cancer. Over the next couple of years he continued to lose strength and his esophagus began to tighten due to scar tissue build up stemming from the same radiation treatments. We moved Rick from his large house in Parker to an over 55 golf community in Aurora in 2022. Rick continued to get bad health news as he was diagnosed with Amyloidosis in 2022. This plaque buildup around his heart was unfortunately a terminal condition but we were hopeful to still have many years left with him. In 2023 Rick moved into our home to live with Jen, Andrew and me. It was tough to have to move Papa away from his church, life group, and many friends but it was important to him and us that he was close to family. Watching this strong, independent and vibrant man’s health steadily decline was heart breaking. Rick enjoyed having many of his friends and family come to visit with him over the next several months. He went into Poudre Valley hospital on November 19th for a procedure to widen his esophagus. Complications arose from this procedure, and he battled for the following two weeks trying to regain his strength. On December 5th Rick lost his battle and went to join his parents, brother Tom, sister Tina and his Lord and Savior in heaven. He told us not to worry, that it was his time to go home. We mourn his passing but are grateful that he’s no longer suffering and are at peace knowing that he will be watching over us.

Rick is survived by his son Richard, daughter-in-law Jen, grandson Andrew, sister Barbara, cousins Sally and Diane, niece Whitney, nephews Ian and Courtnay Jr. and their beautiful spouses and children.

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