Lily Wray Ward

Lily Wray Ward, 84, passed from this earth on May 24, in Golden, Colorado. She was born and grew up near Clendenin, in the majestic West Virginia hills, up the Elk River from Charleston, WV.

Lily Wray was the third of Mark and Elsie Naylor’s four daughters, Sidney Louise, Mary Ann, Lily Wray, and Terri. After graduating with honors from Marshall University in Huntington, WV, she returned home to rural WV to teach home economics and biology at Herbert Hoover High School. She loved it! And her students loved her (as well as her white ’65 Mustang).

While Lily Wray was in college, a campus minister had urged her to combine her love for teaching with her love for God and other people. She accepted a scholarship offer from the Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, VA. There she was spotted by Russ Ward, a young preacher-to-be. But Lily Wray and Russ always thought that the best work they ever did was raising their two sons, Jon Mark and Mattison Taylor (as well as numerous dogs and cats, and especially her 5 beloved Welsh Corgis).

Jon Mark, and his partner, Tim, have a law practice in the Foothills of the Rockies near Denver. Matt works in IT at the University of North Carolina. Lily Wray delighted and watching Matt and his wife, Danielle, raise her beloved grandchildren, Riley and Cassidy.

This summer, Lily Wray’s family who have loved her so much will take her back to rest with her parents, Mark and Elsie, in the West Virginia hills, “so majestic and so grand, their summits bathed in glory like the Prince Immanuel’s Land.”

Lily Wray Naylor “Beautiful” Ward will be greatly missed by all of us. She graced our lives like no other ever will. Her sons were lucky to have her as a mother, and Russ lucky to have sixty years of wonderful memories. She leaves behind a smile like no other that always called us home, and always will. May we all carry Lily Wray’s gleam and smile in our hearts.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Lily Wray’s honor to the Alzheimer’s Association at https://www.alz.org/ or to the Colorado Welsh Corgi Rescue Organization at https://www.corgisandfriends.com/ .