Ila ‘Sam” Ward, was born on November 18, 1931 in Corpus Christi, Texas to Selvan and Arah Leila McAfee.
On September 23, 2021 she suffered a massive stroke which left her in a coma at the hospital, they could do nothing for her, and so they sent her back home under Hospice and the loving care of her family. Then on September, 27, 2021 she passed away.
After a divorce, she got a job and worked and retired from Houston Light and Power Company. There she met Don “Shorty” Ward and eventually got married. They became avid trail riders for years. She was a follower of Jesus Christ, and with her daughter, they had a prison ministry. She was an exceptional mother having unconditional love for her family.
She is preceded in death by her parents and four siblings and her grandson Don Hamby. She is survived by her two children Deborah Odom and Clint Odom and his wife Lyndia of Pasadena, Texas; her stepson Donnie Ward from Alvin; grandchildren, are Christopher Frederick, Scott P. Queen, and Don Hamby, Michael and Matthew Ward; great-grandchildren are Lilith and Sevi Frederick and Colton Queen, as well as numerous family and friends.
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