Isabella 'Bella' Ward, 84
DOVER - Isabella "Bella" Ward of Dover died Friday, April 30, 2004, in Westminster Retirement Village Health Center, Dover. She was 84.
Miss Ward was born June 20, 1919, in Elizabeth, N.J., second of four daughters of the late William J. Ward and Nancy B. Ward.
She graduated from Dover High School in 1937. In 1940, she began study at the Pasadena Playhouse School of the Theatre (later the College of Dramatic Arts) in Pasadena, Calif. War cut short her program.
Miss Ward began working in 1943 for the Office of Defense Transportation at the Dover Army Airfield, now the Dover Air Force Base. When the war ended, she joined the National Repertory Theatre Co. in New York City and toured the central and southwestern United States. From 1948 to 1953, she joined her younger sister, Margaret, in Baltimore, working at the Enoch Pratt Library and performing with the Vagabond Players and directing plays for the University of Baltimore drama group. In 1953, with the death of her father, she returned to Dover to be with the family. She worked in Civil Service at the Dover Air Force Base 14 years, helping to found the Dover Federal Credit Union, which she served for 12 years as secretary, treasurer and, finally, president. From 1963 to 1981, she worked as alumni director at Wesley College in Dover, where she often collaborated with her elder sister, Betty Somerville.
She had a heart for the theater. Originally, she aspired to Broadway, but she found a better match for her talents in community theater. She reflected back on a life steeped in the stage: "In community theater, my opportunities were boundless: I acted, directed, produced, swept floors, cleaned johns, ran lights, sold tickets, served on the board, gathered props, designed sets. You name it; I did it. And I enjoyed every minute of it." She would have said the same about her life. She and her mother moved into Westminster Village Retirement Community, where she cared for her mother until the latter died at the age of 104.
Miss Ward, during her professional career and in retirement, was active in the Presbyterian Church of Dover, as an elder, circle leader and committee chair. She was a member of the Stockley Center Auxiliary and served as their treasurer for many years. Through her last five decades in Dover, she worked tirelessly for the Kent County Theatre Guild, participating in every facet of production. Her performance as Emily Dickinson in "The Belle of Amherst" won her Best Play Award in 1979 at the state level. In addition, she shared her considerable knowledge of Emily Dickinson in the Elderhostel program and with other local groups. In 2002, she was presented with the Robert E. Gard Award for superior volunteerism in communication with her work at the Kent County Theatre Guild by the American Association of Community Theatre.
Isabella was also formerly married to actor Raymond Burr. They were married on August 10, 1948 in Bakersfield, California, but later divorced in 1952. They had no children during the marriage.
DOVER - Isabella "Bella" Ward of Dover died Friday, April 30, 2004, in Westminster Retirement Village Health Center, Dover. She was 84.
Miss Ward was born June 20, 1919, in Elizabeth, N.J., second of four daughters of the late William J. Ward and Nancy B. Ward.
She graduated from Dover High School in 1937. In 1940, she began study at the Pasadena Playhouse School of the Theatre (later the College of Dramatic Arts) in Pasadena, Calif. War cut short her program.
Miss Ward began working in 1943 for the Office of Defense Transportation at the Dover Army Airfield, now the Dover Air Force Base. When the war ended, she joined the National Repertory Theatre Co. in New York City and toured the central and southwestern United States. From 1948 to 1953, she joined her younger sister, Margaret, in Baltimore, working at the Enoch Pratt Library and performing with the Vagabond Players and directing plays for the University of Baltimore drama group. In 1953, with the death of her father, she returned to Dover to be with the family. She worked in Civil Service at the Dover Air Force Base 14 years, helping to found the Dover Federal Credit Union, which she served for 12 years as secretary, treasurer and, finally, president. From 1963 to 1981, she worked as alumni director at Wesley College in Dover, where she often collaborated with her elder sister, Betty Somerville.
She had a heart for the theater. Originally, she aspired to Broadway, but she found a better match for her talents in community theater. She reflected back on a life steeped in the stage: "In community theater, my opportunities were boundless: I acted, directed, produced, swept floors, cleaned johns, ran lights, sold tickets, served on the board, gathered props, designed sets. You name it; I did it. And I enjoyed every minute of it." She would have said the same about her life. She and her mother moved into Westminster Village Retirement Community, where she cared for her mother until the latter died at the age of 104.
Miss Ward, during her professional career and in retirement, was active in the Presbyterian Church of Dover, as an elder, circle leader and committee chair. She was a member of the Stockley Center Auxiliary and served as their treasurer for many years. Through her last five decades in Dover, she worked tirelessly for the Kent County Theatre Guild, participating in every facet of production. Her performance as Emily Dickinson in "The Belle of Amherst" won her Best Play Award in 1979 at the state level. In addition, she shared her considerable knowledge of Emily Dickinson in the Elderhostel program and with other local groups. In 2002, she was presented with the Robert E. Gard Award for superior volunteerism in communication with her work at the Kent County Theatre Guild by the American Association of Community Theatre.
Isabella was also formerly married to actor Raymond Burr. They were married on August 10, 1948 in Bakersfield, California, but later divorced in 1952. They had no children during the marriage.
Isabella 'Bella' Ward, 84
DOVER - Isabella "Bella" Ward of Dover died Friday, April 30, 2004, in Westminster Retirement Village Health Center, Dover. She was 84.
Miss Ward was born June 20, 1919, in Elizabeth, N.J., second of four daughters of the late William J. Ward and Nancy B. Ward.
She graduated from Dover High School in 1937. In 1940, she began study at the Pasadena Playhouse School of the Theatre (later the College of Dramatic Arts) in Pasadena, Calif. War cut short her program.
Miss Ward began working in 1943 for the Office of Defense Transportation at the Dover Army Airfield, now the Dover Air Force Base. When the war ended, she joined the National Repertory Theatre Co. in New York City and toured the central and southwestern United States. From 1948 to 1953, she joined her younger sister, Margaret, in Baltimore, working at the Enoch Pratt Library and performing with the Vagabond Players and directing plays for the University of Baltimore drama group. In 1953, with the death of her father, she returned to Dover to be with the family. She worked in Civil Service at the Dover Air Force Base 14 years, helping to found the Dover Federal Credit Union, which she served for 12 years as secretary, treasurer and, finally, president. From 1963 to 1981, she worked as alumni director at Wesley College in Dover, where she often collaborated with her elder sister, Betty Somerville.
She had a heart for the theater. Originally, she aspired to Broadway, but she found a better match for her talents in community theater. She reflected back on a life steeped in the stage: "In community theater, my opportunities were boundless: I acted, directed, produced, swept floors, cleaned johns, ran lights, sold tickets, served on the board, gathered props, designed sets. You name it; I did it. And I enjoyed every minute of it." She would have said the same about her life. She and her mother moved into Westminster Village Retirement Community, where she cared for her mother until the latter died at the age of 104.
Miss Ward, during her professional career and in retirement, was active in the Presbyterian Church of Dover, as an elder, circle leader and committee chair. She was a member of the Stockley Center Auxiliary and served as their treasurer for many years. Through her last five decades in Dover, she worked tirelessly for the Kent County Theatre Guild, participating in every facet of production. Her performance as Emily Dickinson in "The Belle of Amherst" won her Best Play Award in 1979 at the state level. In addition, she shared her considerable knowledge of Emily Dickinson in the Elderhostel program and with other local groups. In 2002, she was presented with the Robert E. Gard Award for superior volunteerism in communication with her work at the Kent County Theatre Guild by the American Association of Community Theatre.
Isabella was also formerly married to actor Raymond Burr. They were married on August 10, 1948 in Bakersfield, California, but later divorced in 1952. They had no children during the marriage.
DOVER - Isabella "Bella" Ward of Dover died Friday, April 30, 2004, in Westminster Retirement Village Health Center, Dover. She was 84.
Miss Ward was born June 20, 1919, in Elizabeth, N.J., second of four daughters of the late William J. Ward and Nancy B. Ward.
She graduated from Dover High School in 1937. In 1940, she began study at the Pasadena Playhouse School of the Theatre (later the College of Dramatic Arts) in Pasadena, Calif. War cut short her program.
Miss Ward began working in 1943 for the Office of Defense Transportation at the Dover Army Airfield, now the Dover Air Force Base. When the war ended, she joined the National Repertory Theatre Co. in New York City and toured the central and southwestern United States. From 1948 to 1953, she joined her younger sister, Margaret, in Baltimore, working at the Enoch Pratt Library and performing with the Vagabond Players and directing plays for the University of Baltimore drama group. In 1953, with the death of her father, she returned to Dover to be with the family. She worked in Civil Service at the Dover Air Force Base 14 years, helping to found the Dover Federal Credit Union, which she served for 12 years as secretary, treasurer and, finally, president. From 1963 to 1981, she worked as alumni director at Wesley College in Dover, where she often collaborated with her elder sister, Betty Somerville.
She had a heart for the theater. Originally, she aspired to Broadway, but she found a better match for her talents in community theater. She reflected back on a life steeped in the stage: "In community theater, my opportunities were boundless: I acted, directed, produced, swept floors, cleaned johns, ran lights, sold tickets, served on the board, gathered props, designed sets. You name it; I did it. And I enjoyed every minute of it." She would have said the same about her life. She and her mother moved into Westminster Village Retirement Community, where she cared for her mother until the latter died at the age of 104.
Miss Ward, during her professional career and in retirement, was active in the Presbyterian Church of Dover, as an elder, circle leader and committee chair. She was a member of the Stockley Center Auxiliary and served as their treasurer for many years. Through her last five decades in Dover, she worked tirelessly for the Kent County Theatre Guild, participating in every facet of production. Her performance as Emily Dickinson in "The Belle of Amherst" won her Best Play Award in 1979 at the state level. In addition, she shared her considerable knowledge of Emily Dickinson in the Elderhostel program and with other local groups. In 2002, she was presented with the Robert E. Gard Award for superior volunteerism in communication with her work at the Kent County Theatre Guild by the American Association of Community Theatre.
Isabella was also formerly married to actor Raymond Burr. They were married on August 10, 1948 in Bakersfield, California, but later divorced in 1952. They had no children during the marriage.
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