To say that John Q. Ward was a “survivor” in a cutthroat, ruthless and unforgiving business is to commit the mother of understatements.
Ward served as Amarillo city manager for — hold on! — more than 20 years. He served under several city commissions and city councils — the city changed the name of its governing board years ago.
The former city manager died the other day of a lung infection, according to his wife, Donna.
I had the pleasure of getting to know John Ward during my years working at the Amarillo Globe-News. He was the source — along with the city secretary who later became his wife — of all information I needed as a journalist working for the newspaper of record.
I knew about Ward’s inherent suspicion of media. He didn’t always like talking to people such as me. I don’t really know why, except that those of us who pursue our craft often find things wrong with city government and report it to the public that needs to know. As the man who ran the City Hall show, it falls always on the city manager to be held accountable for all that goes on.
Still, we had a cordial and totally professional relationship. I attribute that to John Ward’s understanding of his role as the city’s top administrator and my role as someone who occasionally had to probe deeply into the goings-on that made the city work.
Amarillo worked well under Ward’s administrative leadership. The city grew steadily if not spectacularly. He stepped into the city manager’s post succeeding a fellow who became something of a municipal legend, former manager John Stiff.
Ward, therefore, learned from one of the best.
City managers as a rule don’t last nearly as long as Ward did in Amarillo. That is a credit to his skill and his knowledge of the community he served.
John Ward was a good one … for certain.