David Ward

Naperville Central High School

Class of 1959

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David Ward - Class of 1959 - Naperville Central High School

First Name	David
Last Name	Ward
Graduation Year	Class of 1959
Gender	Male
Current Location	Hong Kong
Hometown	Nashville, Tennessee
About Me	Widowed as of August 18, 2008 when my wife Joyce (Crutcher) died of complications due to heavy chemotherapy for a rare form of lymphoma. Moved to Hong Kong to be close to my only child, Jessica, her husband Adrian (from Scotland) and their 2 children, Zachary and Alexandra. Pretty much retired here, but there are always opportunities for project work. I've joined several organizations: the Hong Kong Welsh Male Voice Choir (HKWMVC), the Hong Kong Gardening Society (HKGS), the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS) and the Friends of the Art Museum of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). Comprised chiefly of older Brits (UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, etc) a few Americans and even a couple of Chinese guys, the choir performs around SE Asia as well as here in Hong Kong. We've been to Manila, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City and will perform in Shanghai this fall. We rehearse at St. John's Cathedral in HK on Tuesday nights. Afterwards, many of the guys will go down to a local bar in Wanchai called the "Old China Hand." They love us there. You can imagine after a couple of rounds, we start singing and this, of course, attracts a lot of passersby. About a third of our repertoire is in Welsh, so it has been quite daunting for me to learn them, especially since we perform all songs from memory. We are all looking forward to a special concert of Welsh choirs performing right before the Olympics next year in London at the Alexandra Hall. I joined the HKGS pretty much at the urging of Jessica, since I have a rooftop and plants for a garden. My first trip with them was to Sri Lanka in March 2010 for 2 weeks visiting the major public gardens as well as a couple of private residences and their gardens. It was an amazing trip. One poignant memory there was when we were up in the tea country, visiting a tea planter's house was a sea of day lilies, much like what we had on Grandview. Joyce loved her flowers. Our next HKGS trip will be to Yunnan province in China, 11-21 May--to Kunming, Lijiang and Shangri-La. It promises to be amazing. More about that when I get back. With the CUHK, my first trip will be in northern India to the ancient kingdom of Ladakh, set between two of the world's highest mountain ranges, the Karakorums and the Himalayas. So getting there from Delhi involves crossing the highest mountain passes in the world. We will visit Buddhist monasteries, temples and lamaseries. Since I've never been to India, I'll spend a few days in Delhi and then meet up with the group. This will be 10-18 September. Of course, I've taken a couple of trips on my own and some with my family. I went to Shanghai last summer for 4 days to take a quick look at the Expo (one afternoon and evening when the crowds had subsided), and then to northern Vietnam: Hanoi, Halong Bay and Hue. I did a little diary of my experiences there which I'll post separately. Then I've been to Thailand with my family, to Koh Samui, an island, and to Phuket in southern Thai...(read more)