Ross Douglas Ward

Ross Douglas Ward died at his home in Ottawa, Ontario on Friday the 1^st of December 2023 at the age of 77.  He was born in Oshawa, Ontario on the 26^th of November 1946.  He is predeceased by his cherished wife, Cynthia Lou Ward (d. 3 February 2018).  Doug and Cindy were married on 27 July 1974, a partnership lasting over forty-three years.  Doug is survived by his son, Stuart Ross Ward (b. 1981), who resides in Toronto, Ontario.

Doug had been a devoted volunteer for the Ottawa Chamber Music Society and served on the board of the Ottawa-Carleton Association for Persons with Developmental Disabilities.  A lifelong boating and canoeing enthusiast, Doug led boating tours for persons with disabilities with the volunteer-run, nonprofit organization, Friends of Sportfishing.  

Doug’s library accommodated an eclectic collection of closely read books representing fields from history to literature and politics to philosophy.  His commitment to the classics was exhibited in the zealous restoration of his 1957 Austin-Healey, which he navigated along the curviest highways of North America, naturally with the top down.

Doug earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Windsor where he studied philosophy. His professional career began at the Royal Bank of Canada in Hamilton and continued at Export Development Canada in Ottawa, where he worked as an investment banker traveling extensively to South America, especially Brazil and Venezuela. 

Doug is lovingly remembered by his sister, Judith E. White (Theodore White), his niece and nephews, Andrea C. White (Richard Landers), Christopher L. White (Tracey Knuckles), and Kevin A. White; and his great-nieces and nephews, Mara (19) and Chloe (16) Landers, Alex (13) and Andrew (10) White, and William (7) and Charlie (4) White.

A memorial service will be held at Tubman Funeral Homes, Garden Chapel, 3440 Richmond Road, Nepean, Ontario on 28 December 2023, with visitation hours beginning at 2:00pm and a service at 3:00pm. For those unable to attend, the service will be livestreamed (see below).

Memorial donations may be made to the Ottawa-Carleton Association for Persons with Developmental Disabilities.