COUSHATTA – State District Judge Richard N. Ware IV was killed early Saturday in a one-car wreck about six miles east of here, State Police said.
Authorities said Ware was returning from New Orleans, where he spent a lot of time serving as a visiting judge to help with that city’s overbooked docket.
Ware, a star running back for Northwestern State University from 1967-70, presided over the 39th Judicial District, which encompasses all of Red River Parish. He would have begun his fourth term this fall.
“Richard Ware was a wonderful ambassador for Northwestern,” said university President Randall J. Webb.
“He bettered the lives of thousands of young people through his extensive civic involvement, and brightened the lives of everyone he met. This is a tragic loss for our university and the entire state of Louisiana.”
Ware was a native of West Monroe and president of his senior class at West Monroe High in 1967. As a fullback at Northwestern, he won All-Gulf States Conference recognition and was the league’s Most Valuable Player as a senior.
He led the Demons in rushing in 1969 and 1970. His 1,735 career yards rushing ranks 10th all time in school history.
“Richard was as good a friend as you could hope to have, and as true a Northwestern Demon as there will ever be,” said head football coach Sam Goodwin. “Everybody who met him loved the guy.”
Northwestern’s football team will wear black decals with Ware’s jersey number, 38, on their helmets this season in his memory, Goodwin said.
Ware was also second vice-president of the Louisiana District Judges Association and served as chairman of the Childrens’ Trust Fund Board, president of the Louisiana Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, and was a member of the Children’s Code Committee and the Continuing Revision Committee of the Louisiana Law Institute.
Funeral arrangements were incomplete. Rose-Neath Funeral Home in Coushatta will handle the arrangements. In lieu of flowers, Ware’s family has asked that donations be given to charitable organizations for children.
Ware is survived by his wife, Betty, and two stepchildren, James Givens and Janelle Givens.
Source: Advocate, The (Baton Rouge, LA) – Sunday, September 1, 1996
Richard was an awesome influence in my life. As a Coach at Natchitoches Academy, his positive and uplifting attitude infected all of us, and we are all better for it. I look forward to seeing that infectious grin some fine day when we meet again.