Teddie Lynn Ward

Teddie Lynn Rall Ward, born July 28, 1949, in Washington D.C., passed away in Dallas, Texas, after a brief, but fierce fight with cancer on December 16, 2017. She was surrounded by her loving family. She was 68 years old. Teddie was the first-born child to Ted and Dorothy Rall. She was raised in Dallas, graduating from Hillcrest High School and attended the University of North Texas, where she studied Art and English. Some of her favorite childhood memories were made with her younger sister and brother while on family vacations each summer to the family cabin in Green Mountain Falls, Colorado. It was there that she first developed her love for horses, which grew throughout her life. Upon moving to Dripping Springs, Texas, she was finally able to have the land needed to own her own horses. She met the love of her life a few years earlier in Austin, Kevin Ward, and they married on January 4, 1985 and lived in Dripping Springs for 27 years before moving to their current home in Arlington, Texas. They were blessed with two loving sons, Jacob and Zach. She was a devoted wife and mother, both protective and supportive. She made special memories for her family with her traditions at Christmas, her famous spaghetti, stroganoff , and pecan pie, her late-night talks with her sons, and her love of reading and learning. She was also able to instill that love for reading with hundreds of other children as an elementary school librarian in Dripping Springs. She adored the beach, and the home they now have in Sanibel, Florida was her happy place. Teddie lived life on her terms. She was both tough and fragile. Stories abound of her taking risks throughout her life, daring and thrill-seeking, and never regretting the somewhat predictable consequences, as the fun of it was always worth it to her! She loved classic rock- Beatles, Stones, and others. And she was quite an artist and painter. She adopted Facebook quickly, and loved to keep up with all her friends and family that way. Memorial Service: 10:00 a.m. Thursday, December 21, 2017 at Wade Family Funeral Home, 4140 W. Pioneer Parkway, Arlington, TX 76013. The family asks that you come in casual attire. Teddie was preceded in death by her parents, Theodore Joseph Rall and Dorothy Rall Reifel. She is survived by her husband, John Kevin Ward; her two sons, Jacob Belton Ward, and Zachary Travis Ward and his wife, Julia Dalley Ward; her sister, Deborah Rall Taylor, and her husband, Marshall Bennett Taylor; her brother, Stephen Carlton Rall; four nephews, Kevin Hancock Van, and his wife Antonella, Austin Patrick Van, Michael Stephen Van and Stephen Carlton Rall, Jr., and two nieces, Rachel Ward Meadows and her husband Brandon, and Shannon Rall. A memorial service will be held on Thursday, December 21 at Wade Funeral Home in Arlington, Texas. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in her honor to the nonPareil Institute, Plano; St. Jude's Children's Hospital; Unlocking DOORS, Dallas; or the charity of your choice. Wade Family Funeral Home 817-274-9233