John Logan Ward

Dr. John Logan Ward, 91, died on July 29, 2024, in Charleston, South Carolina.

John was born in Rock Hill, South Carolina, on June 11, 1933, the fifth of eight children of Etta Vaughn Ward and Dr. William Brien Ward. Raised in a big, boisterous, fun-loving family, John attended Winthrop Training School in Rock Hill from kindergarten through 12th grade. He remained close to his siblings and their families throughout his life. 

John is preceded in death by his wife of 58 years, Eugenia “Nini” Agee Ward, sister Juliet Brice and brothers Jack, Tommy and “Teeny” (Robert).

He is survived by his sons, Logan (Heather) Ward of Chapel Hill, North Carolina; and Bill (Michelle) Ward of Charleston; his beloved grandchildren Luther and Eliot Ward; and Daniel and Olivia Ward; his sisters Jane Gregorie, Mary (Jimmy) Maners and Ann Houck; sisters-in-law Dicksie and Kaye; and many cherished nieces and nephews and their children. 

John attended Davidson College and graduated from Wofford College in 1955. After serving two years in the U.S. Army, he studied medicine, receiving his M.D. from the Medical University of South Carolina in 1961. He was a medical resident in pathology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham hospital when he met Nini, who was a volunteer “candy-striper.”

John spent a year as a research fellow at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal and then returned to Birmingham, where he was on the faculty at UAB for five years. After that, he ran the pathology lab at Elliott White Springs Memorial Hospital in Lancaster, South Carolina, for more than a dozen years. He finished out his pathology career as lab director at Providence Hospital in Columbia. 

John was known as a Renaissance man, with numerous hobbies and passions. He loved hunting for treasures - Indian artifacts, fossils, crystals and, later, old maps, fine art, antiques and wine. He dabbled in woodworking, historic preservation, writing poetry and songs and studying history, including deep dives into the lives of two historic South Carolinians, Robert Mills (architect) and Marion Sims (physician). John was an inventor, who held several patents for household and medical devices. For years, he kept a hobby farm near Lancaster, where he spent weekends shooting dove, planting trees, driving a tractor, dodging copperheads and pushing the limits of his 1975 International Harvester Scout. Throughout his life, John was blessed by many deep and lasting friendships. 

A public funeral service will be held August 24, 11:00 am, at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Columbia.

Memorials may be made to Crescent Hospice, 4401 Belle Oaks Dr., Suite 105, North Charleston, SC 29405.

A memorial message may be sent to the family on our website at www.jhenrystuhr.com.