A Celebration of Life Service for Connie Ward, age 82, of Windom, will be held Friday, December 15th at 10:00 AM at The First Presbyterian Church in Windom, with Reverend Pamela Prouty officiating. Burial will be at Lakeview Cemetery in Windom.

A time of visitation and gathering will be held on Thursday, December 14th from 4:00 to 7:00 PM at LaCanne Family Celebration of Life Center in Windom. Visitation will continue on Friday for one hour prior to the service at the church in Windom.

Connie Margaret Ward was born on November 3, 1941, to the late Herbert and Margaret (Haywood) Bergendahl, in Lake Park, Iowa. Connie was thoughtful and generous with a gentle, quiet, and compassionate spirit. She attended Jackson High School in Jackson, Minnesota and went on to get an associate degree from Southwest Tech in Jackson.

Connie worked in the Twin Cities for Nash Finch before moving to Westbrook, Minnesota, where she was a waitress at the Drive In. Connie then worked for 30 years as a legal secretary for Cottonwood County and retired in 2003. One of the unique aspects of her job was to help transport prisoners as the "ride along".

For a short time, Connie was married to Willie Stender, and that marriage was blessed with one son, Steven. On November 24, 1967, Connie was united in marriage to Glen Ward. Connie was the best mom to her three sons, Steven, Jay, and Eric. As the family grew, she adored everything about her grandchildren and always took part in all their activities and events.

As a member of the First Presbyterian Church, Connie baked for funerals and often helped in the kitchen. She loved hosting and entertaining the family and had a knack for making everyone feel comfortable. Nobody could resist her chocolate brownie cake, pumpkin pie and homemade whipped cream, fried chicken with milk gravy, and Sloppy Joes.

Connie loved family reunions, family history, shopping, and antiques, and she loved going to the flea market at Vick's Corner in Spirit Lake. She loved dancing, and listening to music, especially country music. The Colosseum was one of her favorite places to go for ballroom or swing dancing, and she tried her best to teach her boys to dance.

On December 10, 2023, Connie passed away peacefully, at the age of 82, surrounded by her family, at The Pillars of Mankato, Minnesota.

Connie is survived by her three sons, Steven Ward of Keller, TX, Jay (Kathryn) Ward of Minneapolis, and Eric (Laura) Ward of Windom; 4 grandchildren, Matthew (Katie) Ward, Josh (Katie) Ward, Rachel (Jason) McNamara, and Allie Ward; 13 great-grandchildren, Allison Bingham, Emma Bingham, Elijah Ward, Kayden Johnston, Evan Ward, Abel Ward, Oliver Ward, Ezra Ward, Hannah Ward, Finn Ward, Glen Ward, Quinn McNamara, and Emberly McNamara; one sister, Janet Hartberg of Windom; sister-in-law, Sherri Bergendahl of Yankton, SD; several nieces, nephews, and dear friends.

Connie was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Glen Ward; daughter-in-law, Belinda Ward; and brothers, Lyle Bergendahl, and David Bergendahl.

Blessed be the memory of Connie Ward.