- Date Of Birth: September 10, 1934
- Date Of Death: May 8, 2022
- State: Ohio
LOUISVILLE – Dorothy L. (Weyant) Ward, formerly of Hanoverton, died Sunday, May 8, 2022, at Green Meadows Skilled Nursing and Rehab in Louisville with her family present to send her off to meet her loved ones in Heaven.
Dorothy, the daughter of the late Valone V. (Bill) and Margaret “Peggy” (Vinsonhaler) Weyant was born September 10, 1934 at home in Akron, OH. The family moved to Hanoverton in 1940 and Dorothy resided there until 2018 when she moved to Green Meadows.
She was a 1952 graduate of Lisbon David Anderson High School. On the senior class trip to Washington D.C., she and fellow classmate Robert A. (Bob) Ward had their first official date. They were married August 13, 1953 in Ft. Wayne, IN. They lived in Hanoverton and started their family. While the children were small, Dorothy was a stay at home mom.
Dorothy and Bob owned Ward Printing for about 50 years. They provided printed products for customers, including local businesses, service clubs, political candidates, and United Local Schools.
Dorothy worked as the business manager at Lewis Chevrolet-Buick in Lisbon from 1968 to 1981. While there, she received many awards from the Cleveland Zone of Chevrolet for her excellence in financial accounting and timely reporting. One year, as the top business manager for the zone, she was awarded an all-expenses paid trip for two to Las Vegas.
Dorothy also worked at Weyant Paint and Wallcovering in Salem as the business manager from 1981 until the store closed. A true jack-of-all-trades, she ran the retail store, assisted customers, ordered inventory, restocked shelves, and kept the coffee pot going.
As an active member of the Hanoverton Presbyterian Church, Dorothy served as a Sunday School teacher, helped with Vacation Bible School, and sang in the adult choir. Dorothy was instrumental in the weekly Youth Club founded by the congregation in the mid-1960s, initially running the kitchen for the supper meal provided to all participants. In its heyday, the Youth Club had 125 children attending weekly. Eventually Dorothy was asked to take over as Youth Club director and also provide the classroom instruction for the 8th grade class preparing for Confirmation. In recognition of her leadership skills, Dorothy was asked, and installed, as an Elder of the congregation, the first woman to be chosen for this role in the congregation.
In addition to her parents, Dorothy was preceded in death by her husband of 58 years, Robert A. (Bob) Ward on March 3, 2012 and her two brothers, Vinson V. Weyant and William G. (Bill) Weyant.
She is survived by her children, Susan (Tom) Drotleff of Salem, Peggy Mix and Becky Crawford of Hanoverton, Vinson (Leslie) Ward, and Sandra (Bruce) Tedeschi of Kensington; 11 grandchildren, Beth Mix (Josh) Swogger, Steven (Kimberly) Mix, Christine Mix (Larry) Firth, Mark Drotleff, Melanie Drotleff (Mike) Hughes, Chelsea Crawford (Josh) Sanders, Kaleb (Laura) Ward, Jacob Ward, Megan Collopy (Arthur Greeneisen), Matthew (Brandi) Tedeschi, and Haylie Tedeschi (Ben) Cooper; 18 great-grandchildren; three great-great grandchildren; sisters-in law, Diane Dornon Weyant, Diane Mussick Weyant, and Vera Ward (Robert) Erasmus, and numerous nieces and nephews.
