Husband, father, realtor, teacher

Clayburn (Clay) Jarvis Ward died January 26 at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center. He was 81 years old.

Clay was born April 28, 1937 in Frederick, Oklahoma to John and Maud Ward. He was their third and youngest son.

He attended Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma, and practiced radiology at Mercy Hospital in Oklahoma City before relocating to Pomona.

He worked as an X-ray technologist at Pomona Valley Hospital (now Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center). He earned his teaching credential at UCLA and became the founding director of the School of X-Ray Technology at Pomona Valley. He taught at Fullerton Junior College (now Fullerton College) and was an associate professor at Cypress College. He loved to share stories about his time teaching.

Mr. Ward served in the Air National Guard for six years, three at Will Rogers Field in Oklahoma City, and three at Ontario International Airport.

He married Carol (Schwary) Ward in 1972, whom he had met while they were working at Pomona Valley Hospital.

In 1986, the couple formed Ward and Ward Realtors, paving the way for him to leave teaching and begin his new career. Together they built a 24-year business. They were most proud of the teams they assembled and the agents they helped train and foster. Mr. Ward was known for his training and sage advice for younger agents, for being the voice of reason and “keeping everyone out of trouble,” his family shared.

In recent years he enjoyed reconnecting with his love of trains, traveling with his family, writing and telling short stories, developing a new sense of humor, and continuing to support his wife behind the scenes in her real estate career. He was also a talented artist and photographer, a gift he passed on to his daughter, Kimmi.

Mr. Ward is survived by his wife, Carol, of Upland; daughters, Kimberly Ward of San Clemente, California, and Cindy Worch of Tennessee; son, Roger Shelly, of Tennessee; daughter-in-law Darla of San Clemente; and a large, loving extended Schwary family.

A celebration of life memorial will be held at 1 p.m. Friday, February 8 at Red Hill Country Club, 8358 Red Hill Country Club Dr., Rancho Cucamonga.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations in Mr. Ward’s name be made to City of Hope, where he spent much time over the last 10 years, at ourhope.cityofhope.org/clayward. He was always gracious and grateful for their care as he navigated his cancer diagnoses.