Austin Leftwich Ward

Mr. Austin Leftwich “Red" Ward, 90, of 1204 Linville Road, Mount Airy, passed away Saturday morning, January 3, 2015, at Northern Hospital of Surry County. Mr. Ward was born June 11, 1924, in Pittsylvania County, VA, one of nine children born to the late William Tazewell and Etta Belle Hammock Ward. Austin entered into the United States Army in 1943, among the 113th Mechanized Calvary, and he later became a member of the 501st Airborne Paratroopers at Camp Mackall. After his honorary discharge from the Army, Austin was trained as an electrician at Danville Technical Institute. He moved to Mount Airy in 1947 and founded Mount Airy Electric Company, which he owned and operated for more than 40 years. He was a charter member of the Flat Rock Ruritan Club and was a member and past master of Granite Masonic Lodge #322 AF and AM. Mr. Ward was a faithful member of Haymore Memorial Baptist Church, where he served as a deacon, Sunday school teacher, and a member of the Men's Brotherhood. He is survived by a daughter and son-in-law, Darlene and Carlton Goins of Mount Airy; four sons and three daughters-in-law, Michael L. and Linda Ward of Charlotte, Bobby Gene and Sharron Ward of King, Garry L. and Carolene Ward of South Shore, KY, and Kenneth Ward of Mount Airy; three stepdaughters and their husbands, Brenda B. and John R. Dalton, Jr. of Pilot Mountain, Linda B. and Jack Hardy of Elizabeth City, and Carole B. and Billy Junior Bledsoe of Mount Airy; twelve grandchildren; six stepgrandchildren; six great-grandchildren; six great-stepgrandchildren; a sister and brother-in-law, Doris and Ronnie Dearing of Lynchburg, VA; two brothers and sisters-in-law, Addison and Gladys Ward of Hurt, VA, and Woodrow and Hilda Ward of Rocky Mount, VA; numerous nieces and nephews; and special friends and caregivers, Autumn Sparks and Blanche Spangler. In addition to his parents, Mr. Ward was preceded in death by his first wife, Frances Edith Smith Ward; his second wife, Ruby Blair Ward; a sister, Wilmoth Dalton; and four brothers, William Tazewell “W.T." Ward, Jr., Ernest Ward, Stuart Ward, and Isaac Ward. The funeral service will be held Monday, January 5, 2015, at 1:00 PM at Haymore Memorial Baptist Church, with the Rev. Robert McCrary and Dr. David Sparks officiating. Interment will follow at Skyline Memory Gardens, with military honors by the VFW Memorial Honor Guard and Masonic rites by Granite Masonic Lodge #322 AF and AM. The family will receive friends Sunday from 6:00 until 8:00 PM at Moody Funeral Home in Mount Airy, where his body will remain until carried to the church to lie-in-state 30 minutes before the funeral service. Flowers will be accepted, or memorial contributions may be made to Mountain Valley Hospice and Palliative Care, 401 Technology Lane, Suite 200, Mount Airy, NC 27030.