His story
Ron Ward was a devoted husband to Donna, a father and grandfather. A biologist at Grand Valley State University, he served as the founding director of the university's Water Resources Institute, established in 1985 and known today as the Robert B. Annis Water Resources Institute. Under his direction the institute secured a W.K. Kellogg Foundation grant that made it the first Regional Center for Groundwater Education in Michigan. He spent his life teaching people on and about the water. He and Donna were born on the same day, in the same hospital, and spent 88 years connected in love and devotion, from Michigan summers to winters at Nettles Island.