Obituary: Iowa State Senator Pat Ward

From the many, many messages of condolences and sympathy flowing on behalf of Iowa State Sen. Pat Ward, at least one is common: She was a throwback to the age of the politics of civility, an aisle-crossing Republican agent of cooperative governance who would fight when necessary, but whose strength allowed for compromise.

Senator Ward died Monday after a years-long bout with breast cancer. She was 55.

"As a senator, she was a champion for her district, took the time to get to know the issues, and worked in a bipartisan manner to enact meaningful legislation on behalf of her constituents," Gov. Terry Branstad said in a statement. "She always had a positive outlook on life, even in illness, and her smile would brighten each room she entered."

Said Iowa Senate Majority Leader Michael Gronstal, a Democrat: “Senator Pat Ward was a legislator who stood up for what she believed in and worked across party lines on behalf of her constituents. Pat will be missed.”

Senator Petricia S. "Pat" Ward was a Midwestern girl through and through, growing up on a farm near California, MO. She graduated from California High School in 1955 and continued her education at Central Missouri State University, where she received her bachelor of science degree in business and legal studies in 1979.

After college, Senator Ward worked as the director of public and government relations for the Soyland Power Cooperative in Decatur, IL, from 1981 until 1994. She became the staff director of the Iowa Senate Republican Caucus in 1997, where she stayed until 2004. 

In 2004, she won a special election to fill the vacancy left in Iowa Senate District 30 when Mary Kramer was appointed U.S. Ambassador to Barbados. Senator Ward was re-elected to the seat in 2008 after running unopposed.

Kramer, a longtime friend, said Senator Ward was a skilled legislative leader who developed a keen understanding of business issues in her work in government relations in Illinois. 

"That experience, though not well known, was extremely helpful on economic development and job creation issues because she 'got it,'" Kramer said.

That understanding gained her the respect and admiration of some of the region's most powerful business leaders. Her business savvy will be missed in the Iowa Senate, said Gary Kirke, a West Des Moines businessman and influential Republican.

“She was just a tremendous lady – very, very energetic; very, very smart; and she enjoyed her job more than anything else in the world,” he said. “It will be hard to fill her shoes.”

Senator Ward served on the labor and business relations, commerce, economic growth, and judiciary committees.

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.

A special election will be held in December to decide that seat.

Senator Ward's Democratic opponent, Desmund Adams, announced that he was temporarily suspending his campaign and urged Iowans to take time to "cherish the memory" of Senator Ward.

"I, and my family, lift up the Ward family in our thoughts and prayers. I ask all of our supporters and all Iowans to do the same," he said in a statement. "Over the years, many people have been touched by Mrs. Ward’s public service, and it is, indeed, a sad day for all of Iowa." 

In addition to her legislative and political work, Ward served on various boards within the community and was also a sustaining member of the Junior League, volunteered at West Des Moines Public Schools and was an active member of Lutheran Church of Hope in West Des Moines.

Nobody, of course, probably knew Senator Ward as well as her husband, John Ward.

"She was passionate about the things she cared about ... and wanting to have people work together, on the Republican side and the Democratic side,” he said. “She had a lot of Democratic friends and was very successful at compromise and working on issues that would benefit everybody. That, I think, people will miss.”

In addition to her husband, Senator Ward is survived by her daughter, Chelsea Reynolds; her son, Ethan Reynolds; her stepdaughter, Wendy Ward of Wichita, KS; her stepson, Tom Ward of Denver, CO; and her dogs, Riley and Sadie.

She is also survived by her father, Tom Sperry of Clinton, MO; her sister, Peggy Bolinger and her brother, Sean Sperry, both of California, MO; and many nieces and nephews. Senator Ward was preceded in death by her mother, Wilma Sperry of Clinton, MO, and her sister, Carol Hartley of California, MO. 

Funeral arrangements are pending.