02 Mar Larry Ward – Missed

Larry Ward was a man of few words, but the words he chose were almost always good ones.

Deliberate, funny and smart, Larry was a highly valued employee at Pacific Fishermen Shipyard on the Lake Washington Ship Canal in Ballard. Larry started at Pac Fish as a draftsman and wound up as the shipyard’s Facilities Manager.

He was also a wonderful husband, dad and friend, and a rock-solid contributor to a variety of civic organizations, including the Manufacturing Industrial Council (MIC), the North Seattle Industrial Association and the Youth Maritime Training Association.

At the MIC, Larry was instrumental in helping to develop Core Plus, a high school shop program now available at 50 schools across the state. A member of the industry team that helped designed the program, Larry struck up a friendship with team member Bret Hinton, a top flight A&P mechanic at Boeing.

Both slow talkers, Larry and Bret began to identify all the workplace skill requirements shared by the aviation and marine sectors. Their efforts were painstaking – and, sometimes, painful for outsiders to follow. But, they eventually helped identify the basic “core” skills that can qualify students for virtually any high-end industrial career. Sounds obvious now, but at the time, it was a revelation that acquired instant credibility with Washington state education leaders because it was so obvious Larry and Bret knew what they were talking about.

As the program got up and running, Larry proved himself an outstanding tour guide for high school students taking field trips to Pac Fish. He was also outstanding at explaining the lunacy sometimes found at the nexus of conflicting government regulations.

Larry passed away recently. A memorial service will be held March 3, starting at 1 pm, at Our Redeemer’s Lutheran Church, 2400 NW 85th St., Seattle, WA. 98117. Donations can be made in Larry’s memory to the Youth Maritime Training Association, at www.ymta.net/about-us/donate.