Lena Ward, Dana’s Great Aunt, has led a remarkable life and has been a great influence on Dana. Lena McCoy Ward was one of 14 siblings born to Harvey and Isabell McCoy in Success, Mo.
Harvey was a legendary Ozarks mountaineer, farmer, and, most infamously, moonshiner near the head of Steam Mill Hollow - in walking distance of McCoy’s farm.
Dana’s first memories of Lena are visiting the old homestead for the holidays. It still had a working outhouse at the time!
They rode horses, enjoyed picnics, and waded in the river near “Shelf Rock.”
Lena’s dad taught her to shoot a .22 so they could hunt squirrel and rabbit. According to Lena, if prepared correctly, they are delicious! The family never wasted food, and you always cleaned your plate.
Lena has always been very independent and an extremely hard worker. She worked on the family farm where they grew corn, wheat and all their own food. Lena and her siblings attended a one room schoolhouse, and some graduated from high school.
She worked in several factories, including the International Shoe Company for 14 years, but grew tired of factory life and went to beauty school. To further herself and earn more money, she applied to business school. After graduating, Lena heard Fort Leonard Wood was hiring office clerks during the Vietnam War, and she worked there for 25 years.
She married the love of her life, Roy Ward, early in life and they were married for 65 years until his death in 2015. They never had children – she said they were always too busy! Together, they worked extremely hard on their land, building homes and fences, gardening, and raising horses.
Lena built a new house ten years ago, designed so she can “age in place.” She took the staircase from the old family home and built it into her new house. A nameplate was made for each step with the McCoy siblings in order, from the youngest at the bottom to the oldest on top.
Lena still gardens, cooks, drives her car, and stays very active in her local church thatshe helped build. She just turned 93 and only recently sold her John Deere tractor - shealways loved to mow her land. Lena also played a significant role in preserving the history of the Old Success Cemetery, maintaining its grounds, and ensuring the stories of family and others buried there were remembered and honored.
Dana has become closer with Lena after her grandmother and mom passed in recent years. Lena is the last connection to the older generations and those family stories.
Lena’s independence, no nonsense-attitude, and hard work to get what you want out of life rubbed off on Dana. There was never a feeling of entitlement because Lena always felt this world doesn’t owe us anything. Nothing is handed to us; we have to work for it.
Lena’s relationship with her husband also provided a great example – it was always a partnership and a true love. They took care of each other without expecting to be taken care of.
We are impressed by Lena’s lifelong accomplishments and proud to have her as a client!
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