Industry Mourns "Buddy" Ward
Minor Judson "Buddy" Ward, 63, a former president of Atlanta Newspapers and member of ANPA's Technical Committee, died in a plane crash Feb. 14 in St. Lucie County, Fla.
Ward was the only person aboard the single-engine Piper when it struck power lines and crashed in a grapefruit grove 50 miles north of West Palm Beach. Ward's plane was in Florida for its annual safety check.
A witness said it was an especially foggy morning. The plane was flying extremely low when it passed a set of power lines and continued for a few hundred yards. Then it made a sharp turn back, struck the wires and exploded in flames.
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Ward graduated from Atlanta's Murphy High School in 1953 and joined the Atlanta Journal-Constitution as an apprentice printer that year. He quickly rose through a number of printing-management positions and became vice president of production and engineering in 1979. In 1983, he was promoted to president of the papers, supervising everything but news. He later served as senior vice president of operations for Cox Newspapers, which owns Atlanta Newspapers.
Ward retired in 1990 and moved to Hartwell, Ga., approximately 110 miles from Atlanta. He was serving on the Hart County Board of Commissioners, where he was past chairman. The current chairman, R. C. Oglesby, asked the county and city offices in Hartwell to fly their flags at half mast in his honor.
Ward was also a chairman of the Hart County Board of Health, a Hart County literacy volunteer and was active in Hart County Toys for Tots drives. He was instrumental in the purchase and renovation of an administrative and emergency-services building, creation of the position of public works director, implementation of an enhanced 911 system and creation of the county's first mission statement.
He is survived by his wife, Faye Hagan Ward; four daughters, two stepdaughters and 13 grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society, c/o Ruth Skelton, 97 Benson St., Hartwell, Ga. 30643.