Eugene Judson Ward

Eugene “Gene” Judson Ward was born on Wheeling Island, West Virginia July 23, 1926 to parents Edna Davis Ward and H. Brooks Ward. He and his older brother James grew up in Charleston, West Virginia. During the depression the family lived in a boarding house where a lot of country music stars stayed. One of the highlights of his childhood was a trip to the 1940 World’s Fair in New York which he earned selling newspapers.

Gene graduated high school in the Class of ’44. Although a pacifist at heart, he recognized the dangers of fascism and served as an Army Scout in WWII in the Philippines. After the war ended, he trained as an Army Clerk, hoping to be sent to Europe, but he ended up serving out his enlistment in Korea.

Gene attended West Virginia University and Marshall College on the GI bill. When Gene saw Thomas Mitchell in “Death of a Salesman” early in his college education he switched his major to Theater, and graduated from Marshall College in Huntington, West Virginia with a degree in English and Drama.

He was hired by George Washington University to run the Theater Department but when the University discontinued the department, he took a job working for Lopert Movie Theaters while pursuing a Master’s Degree at Catholic University of America. Through his theater work and his association with the Lopert Group, he met many interesting personalities of the day, including Charles Laughton, Jose Ferrer, Rosemary Clooney and Tallulah Bankhead. He was tasked with delivering flowers to Mamie Eisenhower where he was invited into the White House by Mrs. Eisenhower’s social secretary.

In Washington D C he reconnected with a Marshall classmate, Elizabeth Surbaugh. They married and lived in Maryland, where Gene taught drama at High Point High School. The couple had three children before deciding to relocate to California. They settled in Ventura in 1962 and Gene taught drama at Santa Paula High. In 1968 he completed his Master’s Degree in Drama at Cal State Los Angeles. Gene used his great sense of humor to try his hand at writing comedy for stand up comedians in the 60s and early 70s.

In 1969 the family moved to the Sunland-Tujunga area of Los Angeles. Gene took a job at Crescenta Valley High School. He would remain there for the rest of his career, teaching Speech and English and eventually becoming the School Librarian. He also taught night classes at Glendale College.

With summers off work as a teacher, the family traveled all over the country camping and visiting relatives. Gene took his family to the theater and national parks.

Gene and Elizabeth ended their marriage in 1977 but would remain friends until her death. In 1979, their son John was tragically killed in an auto accident.

After retiring, Gene became the archivist for SPERDVAC (Society to Preserve and Encourage Radio Drama, Variety and Comedy). As well as operating the lending library, he also worked at preserving old recordings that were on reel to reel tape. He started a weekly radio show dedicated to old time radio. His show was broadcast on KCSN and later on Allegheny Mountain Radio. The Old Time Radio Hour continues today as a podcast curated and hosted by his daughter, Justeen, and Gene collaborated on the production until his death.

Justeen’s marriage to John Biondo blended the Ward and Biondo families together. Gene’s family, daughters Justeen and Marty, son in law John Biondo, John’s sister Adriene and their father, John Sr, Adriene’s husband John Eng, Gene and his ex-wife Elizabeth often gathered for family events and holidays. Elizabeth Ward died in 2008, and John’s father John Biondo, Sr died in 2012 but the family continued to meet for a weekly Movie Night with dinner and a movie at John and Justeen’s house. They took turns cooking and Gene often brought the food. He always liked to cook for the family.

Gene also enjoyed watching sports and was a fan of UCLA and Lakers basketball in the 70s and 80s. Later in life he turned his attention to baseball, and remained a Dodger fan for the rest of his life.

Gene moved into The Gardens at Park Balboa in September of 2018 and he really enjoyed living there.

Gene drove himself to family night every Monday until he gave up driving at the age of 96 and continued to go to the gym until he was 97. He read the newspaper daily and was a liberal Democrat who always voted. An aficionado of classic movies, he would provide DVD copies of movies or arrange screenings for his friends and family.

Gene met the best friend he ever had, Frank Lin, in the last three years of his life. Frank was born in Taiwan and had a very interesting life with a lot of world travel. They found a lot to talk about and Gene found a new enthusiasm for life after he met Frank. They met a few times a week and those times were the highlight of his week.

In March of 2024, Justeen’s husband John Biondo died and Gene began to get weaker at the same time. He went to the hospital twice in March. In April he fell and fractured his pelvis. He chose to go on hospice care and died five days later on April 23, 2025.

In accordance with Gene’s wishes and arrangements he made, his body will be cremated and his ashes scattered at sea.

Gene is survived by his daughters, Marty and Justeen Ward, his daughter in law Adriene Biondo and her husband John Eng, his niece, Linda Tousignant, and his best friend ever, Frank Lin.