Mary Ann Ward

April 5, 1933 – July 26, 2033

Mary Ann (Ilgen) Ward passed away July 26, 2023, at her residence in Harmony Place of Harmony, Minn., at the age of 90 years and three months.

Mary was born April 5, 1933, in Pepin County, Lima Township, Durand, Wis. She was the sixth child of Frank and Mabel (Hansen) Ilgen’s family of nine daughters and one son. Mary Ann attended St. Mary’s Catholic School from first grade to tenth grade, then transferring to Durand High School, graduated in 1951. She entered the St. Marys Hospital School of Practical Nursing in Rochester, Minn., graduating in 1953 as a licensed practical nurse. She continued her nursing at St. Marys Hospital in Rochester. She met her future husband, Leo Edward Ward on a blind date in March 1954. After a whirlwind courtship, they married on September 16, 1954, moving to the Ward Family Farm in rural Chatfield, Fillmore County, Minn.

She and Leo were blessed with 10 healthy children – three sons and seven daughters, which kept them busy and close to home. As the family grew, she was able to become more active in her church and community. She served as Altar Society president and as a member of the church Education Board, teaching release time CCD classes. Over the years she served as township chairman of the Community Drive, served for the annual school census, and was an active member of the Community Corrections Advisory Board of Fillmore, Olmsted and Dodge Counties of SE MN.

In 1987, she and Leo retired from farming and moved to Chatfield, Minn. She returned to nursing at the Chosen Valley Care Center as a staff nurse. In 1995 she began to care for her husband Leo on a full-time basis. She cared for him until his death in December 1997. Mary continued to live in the Chatfield area, moving between the communities of Chatfield, Preston, Lanesboro and Harmony. Mary spent her last eight years at Harmony Place. She has taken numerous trips over the years, traveling to Hawaii, Ireland, Arizona, Washington state, Colorado, Scotland and the Washington, D.C. area, to visit family and friends.

Mary loved all her children dearly and continued to see each grandchild and great-grandchild as God’s blessing on her life. She has welcomed many daughters- and sons-in-law to the Leo and Mary Ann Ward family, on down to the next generation.

Mary is survived by nine of her children, 26 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Surviving are son Wm. Patrick Ward (Camey) of rural Chatfield and his daughter Nicole Ward (Stefan) of Lake City, Minn.; son Philip Ward (Mavis) of Rochester, Minn., and children Amanda Brownlow (Chad) of Phoenix, Ariz., and Ashley Ward of Rochester, Minn.; daughter Linea M. Baldwin (John) of West Union, Iowa, and children John Baldwin of Boulder, Colo., his son Jeremiah Godoy of Flagstaff, Ariz., Matthew Thomas of Des Moines, Iowa, Timothy Leo of Fleetwood, Pa., and Brianna Marie Baldwin (Elliot) of Huntsville, Ala.; daughter Rosemary Ward Gallagher (Jim) of Reedsburg, Wis., and her children Rebecca DenHollander (Jason) and daughter Artimis of Door County, Wis., Kelly Jo Gallagher of Door County, Wis., and Annie Gallagher of Portland Oreg.; daughter Mary Ellen Ward Tix (Jack) of Rochester, Minn., and sons Leo Ward Tix of Rochester and son Gavin of Dover, Minn.; Max Tix (Ericka) and son Finley, and Eli Tix, all residing in Rochester; daughter Lucy Ann Ward (Gerald Sanders) and sons Jared and Tobias, all residing in Silver Spring, Md.; granddaughter Skye Irene Rygh, daughter of Irene Ward and Donnie Rygh, residing in North Minneapolis; daughter Clarissa Tinjum (Brian) and children Theo Tinjum, Ward Tinjum (Jayna) and son Parker, all residing in Detroit Lakes and Victoria Tinjum of Fargo, N. Dak; daughter Gretchen Ward (Allen Shofe) of Leesburg, Va., their daughter Alexandra Greco (Marc) of Hoboken, N. J., and son Isaac Ward of New York, N. Y.; son Lawrence Ward (Carolyn Orr) and their daughters Elisena and Kylara of Perth, Australia, his sons Andrew and Alex Ward of Rochester, Minn., and Adam Ward (Maria) of St. Paul, Minn.Mary Ann is also survived by two of her siblings, Helen Bauer and Thelma Wallace of Durand, Wis., and brother-in-law Jim Ward of Sioux Falls, S. Dak.

Mary Ann was preceded in death by her husband Leo E. Ward, her daughter Irene Marie Rygh, her sisters Margaret Ilgen, Kathleen (Schuh), Lucille (Wilson), Joan (Bauer), Francis (Christopherson) and Judith (Peart), and her brother Frank Ilgen, and many more sisters- and brothers-in-law.

Funeral Mass for Mary Ann will be 11 a.m. on Monday, August 7, 2023, at St Mary’s Catholic Church, Chatfield, Minn., with Fr. Tim Biren officiating. Visitation will be held one hour prior to services. A private burial will be scheduled for a later date.