Iowans Remember State Senator Pat Ward’s ‘Tenacious’ and ‘Exuberant’ Spirit

Family, friends and a parade of state officials and dignitaries said goodbye Friday morning to a state senator known for her firm, yet civil, voice on the Statehouse floor and her passion for public service.

They remembered Senator Petricia S. "Pat" Ward as a fighter – not only against breast cancer, the disease that claimed her life Monday – but for all Iowans. Though gravely ill, Ward continued to fight for Iowans in a Senate race that friends said she wanted badly to win because she didn’t think her work was finished.

Gov. Terry Branstad said Ward “defined teamwork” and was “one of those rare individuals who worked with everyone at a time when confidence in public servants is eroding.”

“She met her adversaries with courage and determination, but treated everyone with respect,” the governor said. “When faced with her most bitter adversary – that of breast cancer – she fought until the bitter end,” said Branstad, who said he was inspired by Ward's personal courage.

Iowans are fortunate, he said, that Ward chose to “share her grace, her talents, and her fresh and positive outlook with all of us.”

“We are all better for it,” said the governor, a close personal friend to Ward. “She left us in this world too soon and she leaves a significant void.”

Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds recalled Ward’s kindness when she was elected to the Iowa Senate in 2008. She spoke lightly of late nights in the Senate chamber, Ward’s invitation to a spare bedroom in her home and “yes,” Reynolds said, “even which stores had the best sales.”

Ward loved the job of legislating, Reynolds said.

“She loved to discuss and debate the issues, and boy could she get animated and passionate when she was debating something she believed in,” Reynolds said.

Muffled laughter rippled across the Plymouth Congregational Church sanctuary in agreement.

Calling the late senator a role model, Reynolds credited her consensus builder who earned the respect of both sides with her “get it done attitude.”

“She didn’t shy away from crossing party lines” if she believed that was the best way to achieve a solution, Reynolds said, directing her gaze to the first several rows of pews in the church, which were filled with her colleagues from the Iowa Senate.

Ward’s exuberant smile beamed down on several hundred mourners via a large blow-up photograph of her taken on the Senate floor. In it, Ward was wearing a pink blazer, as were several of the mourners, but she fought her breast cancer battle quietly and without complaint.

When Ward received her cancer diagnosis three years ago, she soldiered on, Reynolds said.

“To be quite honest, I don’t ever remember her complaining, even during very aggressive treatment,” the lieutenant governor said. “She fought courageously and graciously.”

Friday’s funeral, more a celebration of Ward’s life and spirit than a somber affair, featured music that her friend Mary Kramer, Ward’s predecessor in the Iowa Senate, said would have pleased her.

Mourners dabbed at their eyes during “How Great Thou Art,” sung joyfully and powerfully, as a song of praise should be, by Linda Juckett and Chris Weaver. Ward’s daughter, Chelsea Reynolds, read Mary Oliver’s poem, “When Death Comes,” and her stepdaughter, Wendy Ward, read passages from Scripture.

The Rev. David R. Ruhe, senior minister at Plymouth, recalled Ward’s “wonderful ability to connect with constituents.”

“Pat did everything with passion,” he said. “She was a remarkably focused listener and she had a deep concern for others. She loved to talk, and she was easy to be with.”

At the time of her death, she was in a tight race for the newly drawn Senate District 22, which encompasses all of Clive, Windsor Heights and West Des Moines in Polk County, in addition to Waukee and the Dallas County portions of West Des Moines and Clive. She had served in the Iowa Sentate since 2004 and was the Iowa Senate’s assistant minority leader.

Throughout the state Friday, flags stood at half mast in honor of the senator.

“Today, our flags fly at half staff in honor of Pat,” Branstad said. “We loved her dearly and she will be greatly missed.”