Remembering Ted Ward
We were shocked and saddened to learn this
morning of the death of Thomas E. "Ted" Ward
of Deal Island in Somerset County. Ted was a
member of the Somerset County Board of Education
since as long as most people remember, and it was
a job he did with a special sense of public service.
Ted was a big man, well over six feet tall, and his voice was as deep as the channel running into Deal Island Harbor. He spoke slowly, always with his characteristic dry, country humor.
But while he may have had a great sense of humor, he was completely serious about his work, which he always viewed as safeguarding the education of the children of Somerset County. It's not an easy job.
Ted's district included Deal Island, a beautiful and remote part of the county, nearly thirty miles off the beaten track of Route 13. Like most small fishing communities, the population has declined over the years, and as that happens, schools tend to disappear. But Ted represented his constituents well.
They did lose the High School, but that was unavoidable. Only towns like Snow Hill, where political influence is not a problem, can do something as clever and wonderful as turning an old school into a nursing home. It's harder for small towns, like Deal Island, to have that kind of influence.
Ted did manage, however, too keep children on the island until the eighth grade, and in so doing the community enjoyed the benefit of a neighborhood school long after many other small towns had lost them.
But it was never at the expense of other parts of the county. Ted Ward represented the children of Crisfield, and the children of Smith Island, as well as the children of the southwestern end of the county.
The Board of Education, and the people of Somerset will miss Ted Ward. They will miss his low, southern drawl as he would raise a question in a meeting... "Ahhhh... Mr. Pressssident.."
So long, big guy. We're gonna miss you.
June 11, 1996 Charles Paparella All Rights Reserved