Obituaries

May 29, 1940 to May 20, 2022

WHEATFIELD - Dale Ward, 81, of Monon passed away peacefully Friday, May 20, , in Carmel.

He was born May 29, 1940 in Francesville, to R. E. and Lena (Honegger) Ward. He met Anne Jackson in the summer of 1960 and they married in November of that year. They had five children, and had been married for 59 years when Anne passed away in 2020.

Dale Ward

He is survived by his children Brian (Dana) Ward, Angela (Larry) Mainstone, Kerri (Rodney) Westerhouse, Brad (Anna) Ward, Nikki (Sam) Wireman; 17 grandchildren, 3 great-grandchildren, and siblings Roger (Sandi) Ward and Nola Wuethrich.

He was preceded in death by his wife and parents, sisters Barbara Wuethrich and Mary Ann Sanders, and brother David Ward.

Mr. Ward was always fascinated by his father’s stone quarry in Francesville. He started helping R.E. the summer of his seventh-grade year. He rode with his father to work every day working as a clean-up man, and his pay was a new motor scooter. He continued to work at the quarry throughout school, learning to operate cable shovels and drag lines. He attended Kentucky Military Institute his junior and senior years of high school.  After graduating from KMI in 1959, he returned to Francesville to work at the quarry. He did whatever was required, learning as he went. Within a year, Dale was responsible for the plant. R. E. sold the Francesville quarry in 1962 and Dale stayed on, being promoted to superintendent in 1963. In 1967, at age 27, he resigned and started his own quarry in Monon. The quarry was a success and Dale was approached to sell the operation to and rejoin the company that bought his father’s quarry.

Mr. Ward resigned his position in 1975 and began construction on a storage and super-flow system for Gutwein Seed Company in Francesville. In the fall of 1976, with the upgrade complete, he was asked to manage the construction of Parkview Haven Nursing Home in Francesville. He donated a year of his time to the project, only accepting a salary for the second year after the board insisted that he be compensated for his effort. Once Parkview as complete, he returned to Gutwein Seeds to build a new grading and bagging plant. In 1979, he started Ward Stone, Inc. in Francesville. He continued to grow the business, purchasing and permitting a 260-acre quarry site south of Monon in 1996.  In 1997 he acquired the Babcock Quarry in Rensselaer. Dale and Anne sold the quarries in the spring of 1999. Within a few years, they started a railroad museum/restaurant in Monon in an effort to preserve the local railroad heritage. He was a lifelong member of the Apostolic Christian Church of Francesville.

Friends are invited to visit with the family from 4 to 8 p.m. (EST), Tuesday, May 24, at the Francesville Apostolic Christian Fellowship Center, Francesville. The funeral service will be at 11 a.m. (EST), Wednesday, May 25, at the church with Randy Gudeman officiating. Interment will follow at the Roseland Cemetery, Francesville.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Humanitarian Distribution Center, 447 S Bill St., Francesville, IN 47946.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Boersma Funeral Home, Wheatfield.