William Arthur Ward Jr., 59, of Burlington, died Friday, May 22, 2026, at his home in Burlington.
Born July 30, 1966, in Burlington, he was the son of William Arthur and Marilyn Rudy Ward. On February 23, 1991 he married Jane Shirley in Burlington.
He graduated from Burlington High School.
Bill dedicated many years of his life to hard work and service. He began his career at Montgomery Ward before spending 10 years with Walmart. He later worked at Vista Bakery for about five years, followed by another five years with PerMar Security and five more at Hy-Vee. Bill eventually found his place in security work, spending six years at Catfish Bend Casino before illness made it necessary for him to step away.
In his free time, Bill enjoyed attending Bible study with friends from work. He was especially passionate about building computers and tinkering with electronics. He and his father shared a love of Star Trek and enjoyed spending time together playing disc golf. Bill cherished his family deeply and loved the time he spent with them.
Survivors include his wife, Jane Ward of Burlington; four children, Robert Shirley of Des Moines, Justin (Elizabeth) Ward of Burlington, Rebecca (Anthony) Ward of Mt Pleasant, and Jennifer (Dillan) Hervey of Burlington; six grandchildren, Kaylee, James, Hunter, Rhyden, Jason and Evan; his mother, Marilyn Ward of Burlington, and brother, Kevin (Sue) Ward of MN.
A celebration of life for Bill will be held Monday, June 29, 10:30 AM at Bethany Lutheran Church, 2515 Madison Ave, Burlington.
He was preceded in death by his father and aunt Alice Rollins-Gaskill.
Services are pending and will be announced soon.
A memorial has been established.