Laura Ward

Laura Swenson Ward Laura Swenson Ward of Wayside, KS, died Sunday, April 27, 2008, at Jane Phillips Medical Center in Bartlesville, OK. She was 75 Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, May 2, 2008, at Christ Church in Neodesha under the direction of Penwell-Gabel Loran Fawcett Chapel. The Reverend Dave Cheshier will officiate. Interment will be in Neodesha Cemetery. Friends may call on Wednesday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. and on Thursday from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. The family will receive friends on Thursday from 6-8 p.m. at the funeral home. The daughter of Elis and Edna Mainard Jude, she was born October 27, 1933, in Hatfield, Kentucky. She attended school while living in West Virginia. She married Larry Browning and he preceded her in death. She then married Preston Ramsey and he preceded her in death. She married Gene Swenson and he preceded her in death. She married Walter Ward and he preceded her in death. She worked for Prestige Cabinets for 20 years. She later was employed by Emerson Electric for 13 years. She most recently was the owner and operator of 9675 A-1 Used Cars in Neodesha. She had been a resident of Neodesha for 35 years before moving to Wayside, KS, in 1993. She was a member of the VFW Ladies Auxiliary. She enjoyed crocheting and refinishing furniture. Survivors include two sons, Ray Jude of Lawton, OK, and Jay Browning of Neodesha; one sister, Susan Mishler of Chanute, KS; nine grandchildren, Mary Ann Jude, Barbara Shoop, Dawn Pouncil, Jay D. Browning, Heather Lorentz, Kristen Taylor, Shannon Evans, and Amanda and Devon Simmons; four great-grandchildren, Heather and Johnathon McDonald, Gensus Jabben and Tim Greve. In addition to her husbands, she is preceded in death by her parents, five brothers, 6 sisters and one grandson. Memorial contributions may be made to the W.A. Rankin Memorial Library and may be left at the funeral home.