On Saturday March 11th, Ed Ward, a beautiful soul, went home to be with his Lord and Savior. He attended Immanuel Baptist Church , in Madisonville, KY.

Ed was born in Calexico, California on April 5, 1952 to the late Edward Francis and Mary Lou (Varvel) Ward.

He retired from Union Local 40 Boilermakers, after 35 years of service. He retired at age 55 , and spent the rest of his days doing the things he most enjoyed.

It is hard to come up with the exact words to describe this incredible man. When you look up the definition of a SuperHero, you will find an abundance of words. Exceptional, skillful, successful, courageous, brave, strong, passionate, model, protector, warrior. All of which can be used to describe a remarkable person like Edward Tucker Ward. He was a real life SuperHero.

Ed was a man of many trades and wore many hats (literally a hat for every outfit too). He was a craftsman, a boilermaker, a welder, a handyman, a gardener, a coach, a teacher, a mentor, dog dad, and in his mind the worlds funniest stand-up comedian or the next Einstein. He was a visionary that knew exactly the way a piece of wood needed to be turned to make something beautiful or how to read an individual to know exactly how to teach them. But the most important titles he had were husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, “Poppy”, “Papaw Ed”, and “Papaw Head”. Ed loved and protected his family throughout his years on this earth.

To know this man, was to love him. Through every encounter he made you laugh, feel loved and accepted, taught you a life lesson, or even a roller coaster of emotions when you struck out looking. To be in the presence of this man was an adventure, and you always came out a better person on the other side. He left an impact on everyone around him. His presence was a true blessing.

Ed devoted his life to helping people, no matter the circumstance or battle they were facing. His life mission was to help those suffering with addiction. Ed taught his own life experiences in order to help those around him. In his later years, he was a true man of God that loved as God intended for us to love. He loved hard with no judgment, just as perfectly imperfect as you were.

Ed had a famous quote he would say on a beautiful day at the ballpark, “It doesn’t get any better than this!” We all know he said this, smiling ear to ear, as he entered his forever home.

Ed is survived by his wife, Cheryl Ward, 4 children: Tabatha Morris (Robby), Mary Anne Deer, Edward Francis Ward, and Lauren Culbertson (Joe); 10 grandchildren: Casey Cummings, Robbi Morris, Kristen Bartlett, Joshua Bartlett, Courtney Ward, Silas Culbertson, Henry Culbertson, Daniel Fulkerson, Xavier Fulkerson and Serenity Fulkerson ; 5 great grandchildren: Brennan, Mia,Tucker, Bronzen, and Nadia.

A celebration of life will be held at 5:00 PM Sunday, March 26, 2023 at Immanuel Baptist Church 714 Brown Rd. Madisonville, KY 42431. Visitation will be held from 3:00 PM until service time at the church.

Tomblinson Funeral Home Sebree Chapel is handling arrangements.