Lawrence Anthony "Pete" Ward Obituary (2022)

Lawrence Anthony “Pete” Ward was the kind of American man usually reserved for fiction: The rural Montana boy who saved up his farmhand cash to buy an Austin-Healey and move to California. The kind of boyfriend who proposes after knowing you for a month, and then remains wildly in love with you until his dying breath, 53 years of marriage later. The kind of dad who gives you a 30-lb stone carved with the words “Follow Your Dreams,” so you’ll never be without his support. He once moved a boulder out of the road so that other motorists wouldn’t face the danger he just evaded. He did this single handedly. At age 70. While on chemo. When diagnosed with the rare blood cancer multiple myeloma and given two years to live, he wished for another decade. He slipped away quietly in his sleep on July 8, 2022, at age 77 – nine and half years after that diagnosis. Six-foot-three with kind charisma, Larry was a radio broadcaster, an Air Force veteran, a devoted husband, a (very) patient father to three daughters, and a grandpa who made legendary corn patty pancakes. Born September 5, 1944 in Chester, Montana the 8th of 11 children to Teresa and Walter Ward, Larry had eight sisters and was the youngest of three brothers. Even among a big brood, he leaves a massive void. Called “Pete” by family – a nickname that confused strangers for decades – Larry graduated from Chester High School in 1962 where he was voted Best Dancer and then served four proud years in the U.S. Air Force manning an MC88, the typewriter for logging Morse Code. As a lifelong wordsmith and an innovation enthusiast, he helped connect his sprawling family in the early 1980s with a magic once dubbed “electronic mail.” To his final days, he signed his texts “MC88.” With style and a sense of adventure, the farm boy headed for the big city in the late 1960s. He attended San Francisco City College and worked at Macy’s – where he met his “Italian Beauty” and lifelong love, Nancy Angela Salvemini. They wed on August 31, 1969 at Sts. Peter and Paul Church in North Beach and remained inseparable for more than half a century. The young couple raised their three daughters: Celeste, Janelle, and Alison, all while Larry operated his own photofinishing business, Kamerama, and studied at the University of San Francisco where he graduated with a degree in Communications. That degree, a talent for storytelling, and a commitment to truth steered Larry to broadcast journalism. He worked on-air at KTHO and later became the News Director at Sacramento’s AM station, KGNR. Every morning over breakfast, his wife and daughters tuned the radio to hear his warm voice report the news. A love for family memories returned Larry to photofinishing. He established Fuji Film’s processing operations in the Bay Area, then took a similar role with Kodak before opening his own Ward Enterprises and Minuteman Photo Van, an onsite postcard business headquartered at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge – a monument he loved so much that he once built a bespoke scale version of it as a balcony for the family home. A natural problem-solver, Larry often acted as a bridge himself, facilitating journeys, leading others to safety, and providing safe haven above high tides. In fact, one could map the geography of his life around significant bridges: The Golden Gate at sunset. Pont Neuf in Paris, where he and his beloved Nancy made fond memories. The “over the river and through the woods” bridge at Randall Tract in the Sierra Nevadas, where they spent their later years photographing critters, gazing at shooting stars, and watching what the river brought by, until his illness nudged them to the foothills of Placerville. The final span of Larry’s life was spent spotting turkeys and deer crossing through the oak brush, celebrating the Warriors winning the NBA Finals, laughing with family, and eating tiny ice cream cones alongside people who treasured him. He is survived by wife Nancy; daughters Celeste Altus (Lee), Janelle York (Steve), and Alison Ward (Jarrett); grandchildren Josiah York, Olivia York, Sofia Altus and James Altus. He has five living siblings: Dorothy Rennick of Missoula; John of Choteau, Margo Hendrix (Ron) of Seeley Lake; Caroline Forseth (Orville) of Fairfield; Rita, of Polson; and Kathy Hammer (Robert) of Seattle. He is preceded in death by siblings Sally Evans (Joe) of Browning; Norky Smith (Scott) of Peru, New York; Joe (Suzanne) of Louisville, Kentucky; Karen Forseth (Steve) of Fairfield; and his parents Walter and Teresa Ward of Choteau. Services were private and he was laid to rest with military honors at Sacramento Valley Cemetery on July 21, 2022. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to your local wildlife rescue or the International Myeloma Foundation at Myeloma.org. We wish Pete safe passage through the golden gates and into the grand ol’ everything. We’ll miss you, MC88. As you used to say: write if you get work.