Zollie Franklin (Z.F.) Ward passed away Tuesday, Oct. 21, at his home in Dana after a short battle with pancreatic cancer.
He was born Jan. 5, 1952, in Valley Clinic at Bat Cave, the son of the late June and Milo Ward, and was named after his grandfathers, Joseph Zollie Ward and Franklin Price. He was the eldest of three children who grew up in the Little Hungry Creek area of Henderson County, where his two sisters, Kathy Ward King and Lois Ann Gordon, still live on the family farm off Union Hill Road.
He attended Dana Elementary School (1966), East Henderson High School (1970), the Naval Academy Preparatory School, Bainbridge, MD (completion certificate 1971), Miami Christian College (now Trinity International University, Miami Campus), Miami FL, bachelor of arts in church ministries (1976); Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Dearfield, IL, master of arts in Christian education (1982) and the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville KY, work toward a master of divinity in Christian education (1986).
He enlisted in the US Naval Reserve on May 8, 1970, completed recruit training at Great Lakes, IL. He declined a congressional appointment to the Naval Academy in 1971 to attend bible college but remained in the reserves until retiring after 22 years of service in October 1995 as a Yeoman First Class (E-6). He was recalled to active duty with the Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 24 for Operation Desert Shield/Storm from November 1990 to May 1991 and was awarded the Navy Achievement Medal for exceptional service in Saudi Arabia.
He was saved Sept. 21, 1969, and baptized July 13, 1970. During college he served as youth director for churches in Florida and North Carolina. In seminary he was education director at First Baptist, McHenry, IL, and church development intern at Long Run Association in Louisville, KY. At Hendersonville First Baptist Church he served as interim education director for one year, as deacon for two years and was ordained into the Gospel Ministry on Jan. 6, 1983. For two years he served as minister of youth education and administration at Victory Baptist in West Palm Beach, FL. He was appointed in June 1986 as a Southern Baptist Foreign Missionary and served in South Africa for three years as a Christian education specialist, until returning home due to family health concerns. He served as pastor at Refuge Baptist Church, director of missions at Haywood Baptist Association and pastor of Shaws Creek Baptist Church.
Between pastorates he worked for M.B. Haynes Electrical Construction Company. He later worked for Sam’s Club in Hendersonville. He was owner/operator of T.L.C. Delivery, Inc., from 2006 until closing the business and retiring in 2024.
He is survived by his wife, Denise (Fender); step-daughters Julia Marie Boman (Nic) and Mary Alice DeMaio (Chris Janowiak); sisters Kathy Ward-King (Dickie) and Lois Ann Gordon (Tony); his father-in-law Kernan Fender (Sandy); brother-in-law Danny Fender (Nancy); daughters Amy Ward Thomas (Andrew) and Angela Kathleen Freeze (Jason); one grandson and a number of nieces and nephews.
A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. Monday, Oct. 27, at Refuge Baptist Church, Dana, with visitation one hour prior to the service. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
Condolences may be sent to the family at www.jacksonfuneralservice.com or C/O Jackson Funeral Service 1101 Greenville Hwy Hendersonville, NC 28792. Please include the name of the deceased on the condolence.
Jackson Funeral Service is honored to serve the Ward family.
