In Loving Memory

John Bessom Ward, age 74, of Darien, Connecticut, died peacefully at Stamford Hospital on April 8, 2026, surrounded by his family after a valiant battle with pancreatic cancer.

John was born in Melbourne, Australia on April 12, 1951, the fourth of five children, to Ralph E Ward and Eugenia McManigal Ward. His father Ralph, later chairman and CEO of Chesebrough-Pond’s, returned from his overseas assignment in 1957, and the family settled in the Milbrook section of Greenwich, Connecticut.

John attended local schools, graduating from Greenwich High School, where he excelled in gymnastics, golf, and the classroom. John followed in his father’s footsteps, graduating from Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, with a degree in psychology. He was a member of Delta Tau Delta and a letterman on Lafayette’s golf team.

John married Jennifer Brown on August 4, 1973, and they had three wonderful children — James (Aurora), Nicholas (Jenna), and Julia (Danny), all of whom survive John and cherish the times spent with their father.

After graduating from Columbia Business School, John held marketing positions at Colt Firearms and PepsiCo, while settling in Darien, Connecticut, where he resided for the rest of his adult life.

In the early 1980s, John transitioned to Wall Street, taking a sales role in the convertible bond department at Kidder Peabody. John had a meteoric rise at the company, eventually running the convertible sales team, and then co-heading all of equity trading. Following Kidder’s sale in 1995, John took his convertible group to Lazard Freres, then ABN-AMRO Chicago Corp, with subsequent tenure at K Dann & Partners, CRT Capital, and Imperial Capital. John was still putting trades together for his customers in the days leading up to his death.

A lifelong Yankees and NY Football Giants fanatic, John’s true athletic passion was golf. John belonged to the Wee Burn Club in Darien, Connecticut, and the Caves Valley Club in Owings Mills, Maryland previously, but it was the Stanwich Club in Greenwich, Connecticut where John called home for more than 45 years. John was a former club champion and senior club champion, in addition to winning other member-member and member-guest events too numerous to count. John was a fierce competitor and never shied away from any wager. John also gave back to the Stanwich Club, with longstanding commitments to the Membership Committee, the Board of Directors, and co-chairing the selection committee for Stanwich’s second-ever golf professional.

When John’s first marriage ended in 2002, he met the wonderful and engaging Elizabeth Stoops, and the two married on October 22, 2005. Lizzy was the love of John’s life. Together they shared sunsets in their waterside neighborhood in Darien, two affectionate black Labs Raegan and Lexi, beachfront gatherings at the Tokeneke Club, golf and dining with friends at Stanwich, entertaining any and all guests at their Darien home, and one of their favorite joys, traveling together — Florida, Bermuda, Nantucket, and especially Europe. When on vacation, John’s favorite activity was swimming in the ocean, usually at distances that made his loved ones on the beach uncomfortable.

John was beloved by everyone in his life — his siblings, his wife, his children, his colleagues, his customers, and his golf buddies, as they were all dear friends. John will be sorely missed.

In addition to his wife and children, John is survived by his stepmother Elaine Ward, his former wife Jennifer Ward, his sister Sarah Ward Hogan, brothers Richard, Thomas, and James, granddaughters Holiday and Vada, grandson Jack, and numerous nieces and nephews.

There will be no calling hours. A memorial celebration of John’s life will be held on Saturday, May 30, 2026, at 11:00AM at Noroton Presbyterian Church in Darien, Connecticut.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the following organizations:

Stamford Hospital Foundation

3001 Summer St, 2nd Fl

Stamford, CT 06905

Lustgarten Pancreatic Cancer Research

504 RXR Plaza

Uniondale, NY 11556