SACO — Edith Joyce Ward, 95, of Saco, went home to be with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on June 23, 2015 at the Gosnell Memorial Hospice House after a period of declining health.
Edith was born Aug. 14, 1919 in Marie, Prince Edward Island, Canada to Warren and Ethel (Webster) Dingwell.
She is preceded in death by: her only sibling, Grace Spence.
Edith married her first husband, Harold Brown, in 1939. They made their home in Billerica, Massachusetts, and raised two daughters.
Edith was a busy homemaker, and as her children grew, she worked for several local businesses. She was active in the First Congregational Church of Billerica. Edith and Harold enjoyed 54 years of marriage before Harold’s death in 1993. During their retirement they spent many summers delighting in Edith’s childhood home on PEI.
Edith’s life began a new chapter in 2004 when she married Stanley A. Ward. Stan, a widower, was married to Edith’s favorite cousin, Marion, for 54 years. He was well-loved by the family and welcomed as a dad and grandfather by Edith’s children and grandchildren.
Stan and Edith continued the tradition of summers on PEI, building on the relationships begun by Edith and Harold in earlier years. They both worked to improve the family home they loved, enjoying summer sunsets and fresh island seafood. During the colder months, they lived in New Hampshire and Maine, most recently residing at the Inn at Atlantic Heights in Saco.
Edith enjoyed the activities and new friends she made at the Inn, especially the pool aerobics class in which she participated until her last illness this spring. She and Stan attended the Bible Baptist Church of Saco. Edith was a devout student of the Bible.
Edith is survived by: her husband, Stanley of Saco;, two daughters, Priscilla W. Hanks and her husband Timothy of Tyngsboro, Massachusetts, and Heather F. Francis and her husband Richard of Scarborough. As well, she is survived by: stepsons, Neal Ward and his partner Jim Jeffries, and Dale Ward and his partner Leslie Belair; six granddaughters, Kristen Rider of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, Cheryl Bubar of Waldoboro, Melissa Hanks of Manchester, New Hampshire, Emily Owens of Croyden, New Hampshire, Rachel Wing of Raymond, New Hampshire, and Katherine Francis of Manchester, New Hampshire; and 12 great- grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at Bible Baptist Church of Saco on Monday, June 29 at 11 a.m. A time of refreshment and fellowship will follow in the church hall.
To honor Edith’s spirit of generosity, donations are encouraged to the Salvation Army, 2 Sixth St., Old Orchard Beach, ME 04064.
Funeral arrangements are by Dennett, Craig and Pate Funeral Home, 365 Main St., Saco.
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