Vale Martin Ward

Vale Dad / Pa / Martin / Wardy / Marty

Our beloved Martin Roland Ward passed away peacefully in the early hours of Monday 30th June, 2025.

He was a fun, funny, and playful 'Pa' to Tom, Isla and Henry; a selfless, generous, and adored father to Jayson and Kate; and a loving and utterly devoted husband to Jan for 54 wonderful years.

Dad was a man of boundless energy, wit, intelligence, charisma, sporting talent and fun — and that is exactly how we would love him to be remembered.

For nearly nine years, Dad lived with vascular dementia. While many of his core attributes gradually faded, he remained kind, funny, and gentle — perhaps even more so than before. We are endlessly proud of, and in awe of, our incredible mum, who carried the silent grief and immense weight of Dad’s illness with grace, becoming his full-time carer as she slowly lost the man she knew.

In 2024, I co-founded the Forget-Me-Not Geelong Fund alongside nine dear friends — all of us touched personally by a parent living with, or lost to, dementia. It’s our way of shining a light into an inconceivably difficult time, with the ultimate goal of finding a treatment or cure for this insidious, terminal neurological disease.

It was Mum’s idea that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Forget-Me-Not Geelong Fund in Dad’s name — a tribute he would be so proud of.

We’re also holding a FUNdraising event — the Forget Me Not Ball — at 1915 on Saturday 30th August. Tickets will be on sale soon and we’d love to see you there.

With love and gratitude,
Kate 

(on behalf of Jan and Jayson) x