Michael Ware, 60, of Guardian passed away at his home Monday, May 24, 2010. Michael was born August 30, 1949, in his grandparents’ home in Guardian. He grew up in a small community, surrounded by family and friends, living a rural life, learning to hunt and fish, loving nature, and knowing relationships and love matter more than material things. He had rheumatic fever as a boy and fought the heart damage that resulted all his life. He didn’t let this slow him down in any way. He played men’s league softball for years, got a B.S. degree in forest management from WVU, worked as a naturalist at Blackwater Falls State Park for three years, worked as a middle school teacher for 17 years, a sanitarian for two years, a forester for 10 years, and a farmer all his life. Michael is the example for all of us to follow. There was never a person for us to look to who was more full of compassion, caring, work ethic, and genuine personality. He was many things: a forester, a fisherman, a hunter, a teacher and a friend; but the most important thing to him was his role as a family man. He cared more for his family than any man ever has, and he loved his wife, Colleen, more than anything else in this world. There was nothing he would not do for his children – they were his life. Do more than remember him. Try everyday to make a trait of his grow within yourselves – whether it is hard work, his love for his family, or his knowledge of the world. If we all try to be a little more like Michael Raymond Ware, we can continue his legacy and make the world a much better place. Those missing him most will be wife, Colleen; son, Ian Michael Ware and fiance, Ann Elizabeth Harman, of Lexington, Ky.; daughters, Jessica and husband, Jeremy Long, of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Emma Ware of Hurricane; his mother, Ruby Ware of Diana; sisters, Sheila Ware of Diana and Sue Ann and husband, Tony Perry, of Medina, Ohio; and granddaughters Claire and Sophia. Michael was reunited with his late grandfather, Ola; father, Homer; and brother, Mitchell Ware. A service of memory will be at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 30, in the chapel of Dodd & Reed Funeral Home, Webster Springs. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that a donation be made to HospiceCare, 1606 Kanawha Blvd. W., Charleston, WV 25312.

Source:  Charleston Gazette (WV) – Thursday, May 27, 2010