Hard work, a love for music, and a patriotic spirit are three traits that admirably portray Norman Ward, who serves tirelessly to bring about the best for our community. Let’s be inspired as we get better acquainted with Norman Ward.

Please share some information about your early years.

I was born near Luling, Texas, and my family moved to Beaumont when I was five years old. My parents had grown up in farming families and were well acquainted with arduous work. Therefore, at ten years of age, it was no surprise to find me running a paper route. I, too, was learning the discipline of hard work. In fact, I was throwing my route on December 7, 1941, the day that the United States was attacked by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor. If ten-year-olds could serve in the military, I would have signed up that day. Patriotism runs deep in my family line. In fact, throughout the years, my family has contributed to one war effort or another through the lives of at least thirty members. We love our country.

How has your love for baseball played a part in your life?

Beaumont was a AA farm club of the New York Yankees, the Beaumont Exporters of the Texas League. I had not planned to attend college, but instead was aiming for a future in professional baseball. My high school baseball coach knew the manager of the Beaumont Exporters and made it possible for me to go out and pitch batting practice to some of them. We didn’t have Little League, so this is how I learned baseball. I was eventually persuaded to attend college and enrolled in Hardin Simmons in Abilene. I played on the school team, and we competed against as many professional teams as we did other colleges.

What interests guided you after college?

While at Hardin Simmons, I met June Hardy and in 1954, during the last semester of our senior year, we were married. We both shared a love for music and were involved in various musical groups including the acapella choir, a ladies’ trio, and a men’s quartet. After getting married, I began rethinking a career in baseball and felt that it would not be the best choice for raising a family. I majored in music education and minored in physical education, and June majored in English. As soon as I graduated, Uncle Sam stepped in, and I was drafted into the Army in 1954. I went through basic training and was sent to Germany as a part of the occupation forces, a destination for which I became thankful. Most of the men from my basic training group went to the Korean War, and many did not return.

While in the service I played on the baseball, volleyball, and football teams that were formed to provide servicemembers a recreational outlet. I was the pitcher for the Fourth Army team at Baumholder, and our camp, the former tank training headquarters for General Rommel, had been the site for extensive training and preparation for Rommel’s forces. I spent two years there pitching and playing infield, and we played many of the guys who had been on college and professional teams. It was a good brand of baseball. We came in second place, and I was selected for the Fourth Army All-star team. I also quarterbacked the flag football team and was on the championship volleyball team. When not on service duty, I was playing sports. While there, I served in the radar section that helped aim the big 280mm atomic cannon. This cannon could fire over a distance of twenty miles, and although it was obsolete when we got to Germany, we still used it for training purposes.

When did Huntsville become your home?

After Germany, June and I came back to the states. June had been in Germany for eleven months and did substitute teaching for children of the families stationed at Baumholder. Upon returning, I got my master’s degree from Baylor on the GI bill. We both taught school for two years in Odessa, then a phone call from June’s dad sent us into a new direction. Mr. Hardy, who was a World War I veteran, had started a furniture business in Huntsville and made us a proposition. “Try this business, and if it fits your aspirations, I’ll sell it to you.” We knew nothing about the furniture business but decided to give it a try. Learning this business proved to be tough, but after a lot of demanding work, diligence, and thoughtful planning, we bought the business in 1965 and changed the name to Ward Furniture. The business has grown and expanded over the years and has proven to be a solid decision for our family. We encouraged our two children, Laura and David, to leave home after high school so they could have more experiences and opportunities to enrich their lives and gain a broader outlook on life. Laura has a doctorate in piano accompaniment and David, after attending A&M, decided to join the family business, and has played a highly successful and productive role in growing the company. He and his wife Jackie eventually purchased the business and have continued to expand and grow it, all the while retaining its high quality and trusted standard of honesty and integrity.

Please share some ways in which your love for music has figured prominently in your life.

 It has been a driving passion in my life. When we came to Huntsville, I formed a barber shop quartet which included George Vick, Dan Slater, H.C. Rogers, and me. We all loved music, were all veterans of various branches of the military, and all from different religious denominations, but music brought us together. In 1992, Norman Diehl, a local Baptist pastor, heard our quartet and asked us to assemble a group of men to sing for the dedication of their new Sanctuary/Family Life Center. We gathered a group of thirteen men and sang for this event, with June serving as piano accompanist. Everyone was impressed with the sound of the group, so this marked the beginning of the Huntsville Men’s Choir. It began to grow and eventually grew to a membership of sixty-five men. The group was composed of about ninety percent military veterans with seven different religious affiliations represented. Most of these men were regularly active in their churches.

Over the years we have been pleased to be able to perform in some high profile and esteemed venues. We sang for the Sam Houston State Bi-Centennial Celebration, the dedication of the Sam Houston statue, for the Bill Glass prison ministry, for the First Baptist Church 150th anniversary, and for two sell-out Houston Astros crowds. We have performed with the Senior Adult Community Choir, the Sam Houston State University Symphonic Chorus and SHSU Men’s Choir and the SHSU Women’s Choir. We were also thrilled to sing in Houston at the presentation by Ken Burns of his documentary “The War.” Interestingly, as I told Ken, our group included Dan Slater, a B-24 bomber pilot who flew thirty-five missions over Germany, Wayne Spivey who flew a B-52 bomber on 150 missions over Vietnam, another veteran who served in France and was a Purple Heart recipient, another who survived the Iwo Jima invasion, and helicopter pilot who flew countless missions in Vietnam. These were among many in our group who were veterans and served in all branches of the military.

Someone with your creativity, tireless energy, and love for people is always looking for new endeavors and ways to improve the life of the community. In what ways are you involved?

I have been involved at the Veteran’s Museum since its inception, serving three terms on the Board of Directors. I also served three terms on the HISD School Board, have served on the Chamber of Commerce Board, and on several occasions was the Interim Minister of Music at the First Baptist Church. I also directed the production of “The Seven Last Words of Christ,” taught Sunday School for junior age young people and was a Deacon. In 2001, I received the honor of being voted “Citizen of the Year” by the Huntsville Item. Presently, I am helping to prepare the site for a permanent display of a replica of the Traveling Vietnam wall at the Hearts Museum. This museum is a cut above many others and includes a library of over four thousand books. All branches of the military are represented, and thousands of volunteer hours of work have resulted in outstanding displays of photographs, uniforms, and a plethora of memorabilia ready to educate the viewer. My desire is to make the rose garden into a beautiful “first impression” for visitors as they tour this remarkable museum and Vietnam wall.

Thank you, Mr. Ward, for your commitment to making our community a better place for all. We look forward to the dedication of the Vietnam wall and hope it will include a performance by the Huntsville Men’s Choir!

To learn more about the Vietnam Wall and how you can help, visit heartsmuseum.com