Franklin William Ward

Franklin William Ward Beloved Father, Grandfather, Great Grandfather and Golf Enthusiast

Franklin W. Ward passed away peacefully on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, at the age of 96 at Clover Meadow Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Lawrenceville, New Jersey.

Born on May 1, 1929, in West New York, NJ, he was the beloved son of the late Thomas and Esther (Mowell) Ward.

During his younger years Franklin excelled at basketball, earning All-County honors at Memorial High School. He was always up for a lively game of HORSE in his later years.

Franklin proudly served his country in the United States Army during the Korean War from 1951 to 1957. In 1951, he married Florence Last with whom he shared three wonderful children and 67 loving years of marriage.

He spent more than 45 years working in the greeting card industry, holding positions at Gibson Greeting Cards and Paramount Greeting Card Company. Franklin was a long-time resident of Morris County, NJ, living in Madison, Chester, Convent Station and Florham Park before retiring in 1994 to the Pinewild Country Club community in Pinehurst, North Carolina.

As a Pinewild resident, Franklin was an active member of the Pinewild Golf Club playing golf on a routine basis and was deeply involved in volunteer tournament activities throughout the Pinehurst golf community. On September 17th of 1998, at 69 years old, Franklin reached the pinnacle of the game by getting his first and only hole-in-one. His competitive golf spirit led him to playing 4 holes with his sons on his 90th birthday. Frank parred the 1st hole having played no golf the previous year. He instilled his love of golf in both of his sons and his grandson, and his love for golf was only matched by his enthusiasm for life and love for his family.

Franklin moved back to New Jersey in June 2024 to be close to his daughter and resided at Brandywine Assisted Living in Pennington NJ.

He will be remembered by his family and all who knew him as the “friendliest and nicest man” you could meet. With an easy smile, a wonderful sense of humor, and a warm heart, he had a gift for making anyone feel like a friend—even a perfect stranger.

Franklin is survived by his loving daughter, Deborah Ward Lane (George) of Pennington, NJ; his sons, David Ward (Rose) of Highlands Ranch, Colorado, and Mark Ward (Ellen) of Lilburn, GA; three grandchildren, Caitlin Lane (Philip) of Pennington, NJ, Geoffrey Lane of Pennington, NJ, and Valerie Turner (Jay) of Atlanta, GA; and his cherished great-grandson, Charles Franklin Lane.

He was predeceased by his beloved wife, Florence, and his granddaughter Caroline Ward.

A celebration of life service will be held on September 20th, 2025 in Pennington New Jersey.

Arrangements are under the direction of Blackwell Memorial Home, 21 N. Main Street, Pennington, NJ 08534. Donations can be made to the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition ( https://ovarian.org ) in the name of Caroline Ward.