Robert Alan Ward, 73, met Jesus face-to-face on October 24, 2021, in Show Low, AZ.

Bob, affectionately known as “The Bob,” was born October 6, 1948, to Artemus Edgar Ward II and Margaret (Peggy) Jean Patterson Ward. Bob grew up in Point Loma, California, and graduated from Point Loma High School in 1966. He served his country in the United States Air Force from May 1969 to June 1972 and spent those years in Darmstadt, Germany as a Morse Code operator. After his stint in the Air Force, Bob attended Christian Heritage College (now San Diego Christian College) where he played football on the college team while earning a Bachelor’s degree in Christian Education.

He met and married Deborah Hicks in college, and they had four children. Bob took a job with United Parcel Service to support his growing family and retired from UPS after 27 years.

After his first marriage ended, Bob spent many years single, devoting his time to writing numerous plays and seeking publishers for his many written works. He was active in his church’s single adult ministry and the drama team.

Bob met Gisela in 2008 when they were both volunteering in an International Student Ministry group. Bob and Gisela married later that year and were married for almost 14 years. In 2017, they moved out of busy southern California to their mountain retreat of Show Low, Arizona.

Bob’s passion was reaching out to lost and hurting people with the Good News of Jesus Christ. He was active in ministry and outreach from the moment he gave his life to Jesus until the moments leading up to his death. He was most recently an active youth ministry volunteer for “The Church” in Show Low, as well as leading a home group and a prayer group. He has spearheaded drama ministries in various churches and attended many overseas mission trips with SportQuest Ministries. Bob touched the lives of many people with the love of Jesus Christ.

Bob wrote and published many collections of plays as well as having eight published books to his name; he is most proud of his works of historical fiction; Between Two Seas, The Courier, Forged from the Wilderness, and the futuristic novel The Gulag and the Dell. His writings can be found on his website absorbingtales4u.com.

Bob deeply loved his family, and he was also deeply loved by his family. He was his children’s biggest cheerleader and encourager and surrounded his children in prayer daily. He was a devoted grandfather, writing personal letters to each of his grandchildren and carrying on his own grandmother’s tradition of passing out See’s lollypops whenever he saw his grandchildren. In his own words, “I’ve been a lot of things in my life, but grandpa is the best job I’ve ever had.”

Bob is survived by his wife Gisela and their children; Justin and Melody Hermes, Joel and Carly Ward, Joy and Seth Leichtfuss, Joanna and Jeremy Endermann, and Jessica and David O’Haver, fourteen grandchildren, and 4 great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his siblings Catherine Hodgdon, Artemus Ward II, Carol Garland, and Thomas Ward. He is preceded in death by his parents and sister Debbie.