May 4, 2024, 89, Goldsboro —
Melba Ginn Ward, died Saturday afternoon, May 4, 2024, in her Whiteville home, surrounded by her family. She was 89 years old.
Melba was born in Greene County, North Carolina to the late James Alfred Ginn and Ruby Grant Ginn. She is preceded in death by her parents, her brother Russell “Buddy” Ginn, her husband of 53 years Daniel Alex Ward, Sr., and her son James Craig Ward.
Melba grew up in the Arba community of Greene County and graduated from Greene Central High School, where she played on the women’s basketball team and was voted “prettiest” by her senior class.
She married her husband Dan on Christmas Eve 1954, and they resided in Goldsboro, North Carolina, where they raised their children; Daniel Alex Ward, Jr., James Craig Ward, and Janet Allison Ward.
Melba was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, homemaker, and in her later years, a constant and faithful caregiver to her husband. She will be remembered for her famous home-cooked dishes of chicken casserole, taco bake, chocolate chip muffins, pound cake, and chew bread.
She was a member of First Baptist Church in Goldsboro and a faithful member of the Virginia Henderson Sunday School class.
Melba moved to Whiteville in 2018 after suffering a stroke. While in Whiteville, she made new friends in her neighborhood and was able to spend more time with her grandchildren.
She still looked forward to Sunday mornings at 11 a.m. to watch her Goldsboro church services on Facebook. For that hour, she was “home.”
She leaves behind her son Dan Ward, Jr. and wife Charlene; daughter Janet Ward Royal and husband Fuller; grandchildren Allison Ward Royal, Sarah Royal Southerland (Josh), Lillie Royal Chapman (Christopher), Natalie Grant Royal; great-granddaughter Catherine Ellie Southerland; brother the Rev. Dr. A. Stephen Ginn (Sharon); sister Sandra Keeney (Robert); sister-in-law Blois Ginn as well as several nieces and nephews.
A service to celebrate Melba’s life will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, at First Baptist Church in Goldsboro. Burial will follow in Willow Dale Cemetery. The family will greet friends following the service at the cemetery.
Memorials may be made in memory of Melba to
First Baptist Church
125 S. John St
Goldsboro, N.C. 27530
A special thank you to her caregivers Connie Ellis, Lucy Jones, Sheldia Miller, and previously Gail Blackwell and Annette McPherson.
A very special thank you to her care team at Lower Cape Fear Life Care Center, her next-door neighbor Annette Eissens, special friends Suzette Evatt, Rachel Hinnant, and Nell Goforth Wiggins, and to Pastor Joe Washburn and the congregation of First Presbyterian Church Whiteville for ministering to her during her time in Whiteville.
