Barbara Ward, wife of former 'Voice of the Vols' John Ward, dies

Barbara Tallent Ward, wife of former “Voice of the Vols” John Ward and a lady with an endearing personality, died suddenly on Thursday at the University of Tennessee Medical Center following a July 14 traffic accident in West Knox County. She was 79.

Mrs. Ward, a native of Maryville and graduate of the old Everett High School, earned a bachelor’s degree in art history from Tennessee and a doctorate in jurisprudence from the UT College of Law. As an undergraduate student, she earned Phi Beta Kappa distinction. She and John had been married 55 years, according to her obituary.

“She was very genuine, sweet, and kind,” said Julia Huster, whose late husband and father-in-law, both named Edwin Huster, were instrumental in the growth and development of the Vol Radio Network. “She was always gracious.”

The Wards were active members of Concord United Methodist Church and the Fox Den Country Club.

She and John lived in Fox Den, tending to an immaculate and extensive three-acre garden containing thousands of azaleas, rhododendron, iris, and rare wildflowers, located adjacent to the golf course’s first fairway. Friends have often termed the plants and greenery at the Ward home as the “Garden of Eden.”

There was certainly no place either one of them would have rather been, particularly Mrs. Ward, contributing to the ambience of their neighborhood and getting dirt under their fingernails.

In 1994, the Wards made the largest gift at the time to the school’s athletic department, estimated at more than $2 million.

Survivors include Mrs. Ward’s two sisters, Mary Sanders of Chattanooga and Jennie Nickel and husband, David, of Columbus, Ohio, brother-in-law, Bob Ward, and seven nephews and a niece. A special survivor is her faithful “television dog ‘Kee-Lee,’” a much-beloved Shih Tzu whose visage graces television commercials John produced for East Tennessee Natural Gas.

A private graveside service was held for the immediate family on Monday at the Berry Highland Memorial Cemetery in Knoxville.

Donations may be made in Mrs. Ward’s memory to donors' favorite charities.