Mary Catherine Hanson Ward

Mary Catherine Hanson Ward, age 87, died on Thursday, August 29, 2013. A native of Pass Christian, she was the daughter of Katie Courtenay Hanson and Herbert Hampton Hanson. Her grandfathers, John Edward Hanson and Thomas Victor Courtenay, were outstanding citizens in the early days of The Pass.
She graduated from Pass Christian High School, Gulf Park College (where she attained Phi Theta Kappa Honors), and the University of Southern Mississippi, from which she graduated with Departmental Honors. She was editor of USM's yearbook in 1947 and president of USM's Women's Student Government for 1946-1947. She later earned a Master of Arts degree from USM. During her 21 years in Lake Charles, LA, where her husband served as Special Agent in Charge of the local FBI office, she taught at St. Charles Academy, F. K. White Junior High and A. M. Barbe High School. After attaining the title Master Teacher in the Calcasieu Parish, LA, School System, she and her husband retired to Pass Christian in 1983. She became very active in Pass Christian's civic life, serving as president of the Pass Christian Garden Club and of the Gulf Coast Council of Garden Clubs, as the long-time chairman of the Pass Christian Municipal Election Commission and as a member of the board of directors of the Pass Christian Boys and Girls Club. Additionally, she was a member of the Pass Christian Yacht Club Ladies Auxiliary, the St. Paul Altar Society, the P C Friends of the Library, the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE) and the P C Historical Society. She was named Pass Christian's Outstanding Citizen for 1996.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 48 years, Judge McInnis Lewis Ward, her parents, her brother, Herbert Courtenay Hanson, and her sisters, Julia Hanson Cerra and Dora Ellen Hanson Pickich. Survivors include her son, Richard Lewis Ward, Ph.D. (Jane), her daughter, Mary Catherine Olmsted, M.D. (Tom), her grandchildren, Susan, Russell, John and Charlotte Olmsted, her step-grandchildren, Katie Hursey and Eddie Hursey (Tiffany), her step-great-grandchildren, Leighton and Edward Hursey, Jr., her sister Irene Hanson Hodges, and many nieces and nephews.
The Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, August 31, 2013, at Holy Family Catholic Church, Menge Avenue, Pass Christian, at 10:30 a.m. Friends may visit one hour prior to Mass. Burial will follow at Live Oak Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations for a statue of St. Joseph to be placed in the new St. Paul Chapel in Pass Christian. Donations for the statue should be made in Mary Catherine's name to the Holy Family Parish Building Fund, Holy Family Parish, 22342 Evangeline Road, Pass Christian, MS 39571.
RIEMANN FAMILY FUNERAL HOME, 19130 Commission Road, Long Beach, is in charge of arrangements, and tributes may be offered at www.riemannfamily.com.