Lem Ward, Famed Wildfowl Carver, Buried On Friday
Funeral services for Lemuel (Lem) T. Ward of Crisfield, who won national acclaim for his lifelike wildfowl carvings, were held Friday, August 31st at Asbury United Methodist
Church. He died of congestive heart failure Tuesday, August 28th at McCready Memorial Hospital. He would have been 88 years old September 19th.
The Rev. Howard P. Ketterman, Sr. conducted the service assisted by the Rev. Berry McCready. Bearers were Jack Schroder, Roger Lent, Bowser Jones, Leo Lawson, Oliver
Lawson, Charlie Bounds, Carl Tyler and Brice Tyler. Honorary bearers were from the Ward Foundation.
Interment was in Sunnyridge Memorial Park.
Arrangements were handled by the Sterling-Hinman Funeral Home.
He was a son of the late Lemuel Travis Ward and Laura Jane Sparrow Ward. A brother, Stephen Ward died in 1976 at the age of 81. He is survived by a daughter, Ida Linton, and two grandchildren. His wife, Thelma
Coulbourne Ward, died in 1966.
A living legend in his time, Lem Ward and his late brother Steve, were natural-born artists in their field, and so exact and meticulously done was their work that their services were sought by lovers of wildlife art the nation over. The two brothers started carving "hunting stools" in 1918 in their father's barbershop while waiting for customers. Over the years the two produced more than 25,000 decoys and decorative birds they called "counterfeits." The same painstaking work went into each decoy they made in their early days as did in the work they did in later years in making smaller replicas for ornament and display purposes. In the late 30's as duck and goose hunters became fewer, the brothers went into full time production of decorative replicas of wildfowl. These productions were objects of art, so natural in appearance, except for size, they were hard to distinguish from the live birds. Feathers and paint blended into a graceful, lifelike bird. Working as a team, Steve excelled in carving while Lem was a master at painting. Their excellent work encouraged hundreds, possible thousands of hobbyists to turn to wildfowl carving.
The Ward Brothers won prize after prize. Finally, in 1948, at the Grand Central Palace in New York City, they won the National Decoy Contest and the accompanying acclaim for
every item they entered in the contest. There was only one other winner and that was for one item that had not been submitted by the two brothers. The Ward Brothers were
considered to be the masters of their trade and the best in the country in their particular field.
In 1968 the Ward Brothers Foundation was organized in Salisbury, as a non-profit educational organization with the primary purpose of creating and maintaining a memorial to Lem and Steve Ward and to other
persons deemed to be outstanding in the field of wildlife carving, and to perpetuate the memory of such outstanding persons.
The Crisfield Times, September 5, 1984 pg.1
Funeral services for Lemuel (Lem) T. Ward of Crisfield, who won national acclaim for his lifelike wildfowl carvings, were held Friday, August 31st at Asbury United Methodist
Church. He died of congestive heart failure Tuesday, August 28th at McCready Memorial Hospital. He would have been 88 years old September 19th.
The Rev. Howard P. Ketterman, Sr. conducted the service assisted by the Rev. Berry McCready. Bearers were Jack Schroder, Roger Lent, Bowser Jones, Leo Lawson, Oliver
Lawson, Charlie Bounds, Carl Tyler and Brice Tyler. Honorary bearers were from the Ward Foundation.
Interment was in Sunnyridge Memorial Park.
Arrangements were handled by the Sterling-Hinman Funeral Home.
He was a son of the late Lemuel Travis Ward and Laura Jane Sparrow Ward. A brother, Stephen Ward died in 1976 at the age of 81. He is survived by a daughter, Ida Linton, and two grandchildren. His wife, Thelma
Coulbourne Ward, died in 1966.
A living legend in his time, Lem Ward and his late brother Steve, were natural-born artists in their field, and so exact and meticulously done was their work that their services were sought by lovers of wildlife art the nation over. The two brothers started carving "hunting stools" in 1918 in their father's barbershop while waiting for customers. Over the years the two produced more than 25,000 decoys and decorative birds they called "counterfeits." The same painstaking work went into each decoy they made in their early days as did in the work they did in later years in making smaller replicas for ornament and display purposes. In the late 30's as duck and goose hunters became fewer, the brothers went into full time production of decorative replicas of wildfowl. These productions were objects of art, so natural in appearance, except for size, they were hard to distinguish from the live birds. Feathers and paint blended into a graceful, lifelike bird. Working as a team, Steve excelled in carving while Lem was a master at painting. Their excellent work encouraged hundreds, possible thousands of hobbyists to turn to wildfowl carving.
The Ward Brothers won prize after prize. Finally, in 1948, at the Grand Central Palace in New York City, they won the National Decoy Contest and the accompanying acclaim for
every item they entered in the contest. There was only one other winner and that was for one item that had not been submitted by the two brothers. The Ward Brothers were
considered to be the masters of their trade and the best in the country in their particular field.
In 1968 the Ward Brothers Foundation was organized in Salisbury, as a non-profit educational organization with the primary purpose of creating and maintaining a memorial to Lem and Steve Ward and to other
persons deemed to be outstanding in the field of wildlife carving, and to perpetuate the memory of such outstanding persons.
The Crisfield Times, September 5, 1984 pg.1
Lem Ward, Famed Wildfowl Carver, Buried On Friday
Funeral services for Lemuel (Lem) T. Ward of Crisfield, who won national acclaim for his lifelike wildfowl carvings, were held Friday, August 31st at Asbury United Methodist
Church. He died of congestive heart failure Tuesday, August 28th at McCready Memorial Hospital. He would have been 88 years old September 19th.
The Rev. Howard P. Ketterman, Sr. conducted the service assisted by the Rev. Berry McCready. Bearers were Jack Schroder, Roger Lent, Bowser Jones, Leo Lawson, Oliver
Lawson, Charlie Bounds, Carl Tyler and Brice Tyler. Honorary bearers were from the Ward Foundation.
Interment was in Sunnyridge Memorial Park.
Arrangements were handled by the Sterling-Hinman Funeral Home.
He was a son of the late Lemuel Travis Ward and Laura Jane Sparrow Ward. A brother, Stephen Ward died in 1976 at the age of 81. He is survived by a daughter, Ida Linton, and two grandchildren. His wife, Thelma
Coulbourne Ward, died in 1966.
A living legend in his time, Lem Ward and his late brother Steve, were natural-born artists in their field, and so exact and meticulously done was their work that their services were sought by lovers of wildlife art the nation over. The two brothers started carving "hunting stools" in 1918 in their father's barbershop while waiting for customers. Over the years the two produced more than 25,000 decoys and decorative birds they called "counterfeits." The same painstaking work went into each decoy they made in their early days as did in the work they did in later years in making smaller replicas for ornament and display purposes. In the late 30's as duck and goose hunters became fewer, the brothers went into full time production of decorative replicas of wildfowl. These productions were objects of art, so natural in appearance, except for size, they were hard to distinguish from the live birds. Feathers and paint blended into a graceful, lifelike bird. Working as a team, Steve excelled in carving while Lem was a master at painting. Their excellent work encouraged hundreds, possible thousands of hobbyists to turn to wildfowl carving.
The Ward Brothers won prize after prize. Finally, in 1948, at the Grand Central Palace in New York City, they won the National Decoy Contest and the accompanying acclaim for
every item they entered in the contest. There was only one other winner and that was for one item that had not been submitted by the two brothers. The Ward Brothers were
considered to be the masters of their trade and the best in the country in their particular field.
In 1968 the Ward Brothers Foundation was organized in Salisbury, as a non-profit educational organization with the primary purpose of creating and maintaining a memorial to Lem and Steve Ward and to other
persons deemed to be outstanding in the field of wildlife carving, and to perpetuate the memory of such outstanding persons.
The Crisfield Times, September 5, 1984 pg.1
Funeral services for Lemuel (Lem) T. Ward of Crisfield, who won national acclaim for his lifelike wildfowl carvings, were held Friday, August 31st at Asbury United Methodist
Church. He died of congestive heart failure Tuesday, August 28th at McCready Memorial Hospital. He would have been 88 years old September 19th.
The Rev. Howard P. Ketterman, Sr. conducted the service assisted by the Rev. Berry McCready. Bearers were Jack Schroder, Roger Lent, Bowser Jones, Leo Lawson, Oliver
Lawson, Charlie Bounds, Carl Tyler and Brice Tyler. Honorary bearers were from the Ward Foundation.
Interment was in Sunnyridge Memorial Park.
Arrangements were handled by the Sterling-Hinman Funeral Home.
He was a son of the late Lemuel Travis Ward and Laura Jane Sparrow Ward. A brother, Stephen Ward died in 1976 at the age of 81. He is survived by a daughter, Ida Linton, and two grandchildren. His wife, Thelma
Coulbourne Ward, died in 1966.
A living legend in his time, Lem Ward and his late brother Steve, were natural-born artists in their field, and so exact and meticulously done was their work that their services were sought by lovers of wildlife art the nation over. The two brothers started carving "hunting stools" in 1918 in their father's barbershop while waiting for customers. Over the years the two produced more than 25,000 decoys and decorative birds they called "counterfeits." The same painstaking work went into each decoy they made in their early days as did in the work they did in later years in making smaller replicas for ornament and display purposes. In the late 30's as duck and goose hunters became fewer, the brothers went into full time production of decorative replicas of wildfowl. These productions were objects of art, so natural in appearance, except for size, they were hard to distinguish from the live birds. Feathers and paint blended into a graceful, lifelike bird. Working as a team, Steve excelled in carving while Lem was a master at painting. Their excellent work encouraged hundreds, possible thousands of hobbyists to turn to wildfowl carving.
The Ward Brothers won prize after prize. Finally, in 1948, at the Grand Central Palace in New York City, they won the National Decoy Contest and the accompanying acclaim for
every item they entered in the contest. There was only one other winner and that was for one item that had not been submitted by the two brothers. The Ward Brothers were
considered to be the masters of their trade and the best in the country in their particular field.
In 1968 the Ward Brothers Foundation was organized in Salisbury, as a non-profit educational organization with the primary purpose of creating and maintaining a memorial to Lem and Steve Ward and to other
persons deemed to be outstanding in the field of wildlife carving, and to perpetuate the memory of such outstanding persons.
The Crisfield Times, September 5, 1984 pg.1
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