Harriet Buckhout Ward

March 03, 2009

Harriet Buckhout Ward, of 138 Main Street in Fairhaven, died peacefully at home at 8:30 AM Tuesday, March 3, 2009. She was 94 years old. Harriet was the daughter of Albert Tuttle Buckhout and Harriet Atherton Buckhout of South Hadley, MA, and the wife of David Ward Jr. of Fairhaven. They were married 71 years.

Harriet’s parents were from State College, Pennsylvania. Her mother’s father, George Atherton, president of Pennsylvania State University in 1882, was an instrumental force in creating the national land-grant college system. Harriet came from a family of eight children and was raised in South Hadley. She attended American International College in Springfield, MA. Harriet married David, a New Bedford native, in 1937 and they raised their family in Braintree, MA. One of their greatest ventures was establishing and running Camp Sea Space on Sconticut Neck in Fairhaven from1946 to 1968.

Harriet, through a joint committee of the New Bedford and Fairhaven Unitarian-Universalist Churches, sponsored a Vietnamese refugee family entering the United States in 1982.

Harriet's greatest enjoyment was being with her family. She was an extraordinarily spiritual person who loved the small things in life--flowers and birds, sunlight on water, a soft breeze. She was a poet and utterly committed to world peace and social justice, often writing letters to the editor about the futility of war. In her later years, she self-published a book, On Pine Street Hill, that shared intimate memories of her childhood. Her two other passions were watching the Boston Red Sox and the Penn State football team.

She is survived by her husband David and four children: Janet Ward Peters of Fairhaven, David Buckhout Ward of Lynn, MA, Alice Louise Ward of Ashby, MA, and Mimi McKindley-Ward of Mt. Rainier, MD. The late Charles Atherton Ward of Birminham, AL was her second son. Harriet enjoyed eighteen grandchildren and twelve great grandchildren. She is also survived by two sisters: Mary McVay of Amherst, MA and Helen Howe of Holyoke, MA.

Funeral Information

A memorial service will be held at the New Bedford Friends Meeting House on Saturday, March 21, 2009 at 11 AM.

Donations Information

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the New Bedford Friends Meeting House, 83 Spring Street, New Bedford, MA 02740.