Lola Marene “Marie” Winstead Ward

Lola Marene “Marie” Winstead Ward, age 94, of Long Beach, Mississippi, passed away peacefully on March 9, 2026. Born on September 8, 1931, she was the daughter of Willie Howard and Alberta Winstead.

After losing her father at a young age, Marie was raised by her mother in Pea Ridge, Mississippi, alongside her four brothers and six sisters. As a child she worked in the cotton fields and helped care for the family homestead. At sixteen she met the love of her life, Wayne. Just two weeks later they eloped and were married in a peanut patch by a preacher who came straight from the fields still wearing his overalls.

Marie and Wayne made their home in Long Beach, where she completed her high school education. She worked at the Milk of Magnesia Plant before beginning a long career at Memorial Hospital, serving first as a secretary alongside the nursing staff and later retiring as secretary of the Physical Therapy Department. She also volunteered with the hospital auxiliary, quietly giving her time to the community she loved.

A faithful and active member of the First United Methodist Church of Long Beach, Marie taught Sunday school, sang in the choir, cooked meals for shut-ins and funerals, worked at church bazaars, and helped prepare weekly communion for many years. Above all, she cherished her family. She was a loving wife to Wayne for seventy-eight years and a devoted mother to Steve and Mark. As a grandmother she opened her home for weekly sleepovers filled with “South of the Border” meals, Mama Rosa pizza, spaghetti, and her famous hotcakes for breakfast. She attended her grandchildren’s practices, taught them to cook and craft, and simply spent time with them in every way she could.

She is survived by her beloved husband, Wayne Ward; her son Steve Ward and daughter-in-law Sonia; her grandchildren John, Alisha, Ben, Anna, Matthew, Ashley, Lindsey, and Ethan; and fifteen great-grandchildren, along with extended family members and dear friends. She was preceded in death by her son, Mark Ward; daughter-in-law, Shari Ward; her parents; and her siblings.