William Arthur Ward

Across the busy civic and church life of Fort Worth, William Arthur Ward built a career out of short sentences meant to steady, encourage, and sharpen the reader. Born on December 17, 1921, and living until March 30, 1994, Ward became known as an American motivational writer whose gift was the epigram: compact, positive sayings that could fit in a newspaper column, on a plaque, or in a person’s memory.

Ward’s outlook was shaped by service, study, and public work. He served in the United States Army in the Philippines during World War II, then returned to education with focus and range. He graduated from McMurry College in 1948, earned a master’s degree in Agriculture and Applied Science from Oklahoma State University in 1949, and continued studies at the University of Texas and North Texas State University. In 1962, Oklahoma City University awarded him an honorary degree in recognition of his “professional achievement, literary contributions and service to others.”

His professional life kept him close to institutions built around learning, service, and community. From 1949 to 1955, Ward was director of public relations for the Schreiner Institute in Kerrville, Texas. Beginning in 1955, he served as assistant to the president of Texas Wesleyan College, now Texas Wesleyan University, in Fort Worth. After 25 years, he took early retirement in 1979, but returned in 1985 as a semi-retired employee. He also worked as public relations director for Harris Methodist Fort Worth.

Writing ran through all of it. Ward wrote more than 4,000 epigrams, many of them published in Reader’s Digest and on the front page of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. More than 100 of his articles, poems, and meditations appeared in magazines including Reader’s Digest, The Phi Delta Kappan, Science of Mind, and various Christian publications. His column “Pertinent Proverbs” appeared in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and in American service club publications, and he was frequently quoted in Quote, an international weekly digest for public speakers. His sayings were collected into 13 books, including Thoughts of a Christian Optimist, Up Words, Reward Yourself!, and Think It Over.

Ward’s life outside publishing helps explain the practical, service-minded tone of his work. He served as director of Methodist men for the Methodist Central Texas Conference for two years, taught the 140-member Sigler Bible Class at Polytechnic Methodist Church for four years, and also served there as Sunday School superintendent and church lay leader. He was active on the board of directors of the Fort Worth Public Library and the Longhorn Council of the Boy Scouts of America, served as president of the Rotary Club of Fort Worth from 1970 to 1971, and chaired the Tarrant County chapter of the American Red Cross.

Because Ward wrote in brief, memorable lines, his words traveled widely through inspirational posters, greeting cards, diaries, wall plaques, and commercials. Their appeal lies in how directly they speak to daily conduct: faith, effort, patience, optimism, and action. One of his lines reads, “Six ethics in life: Before you pray, believe. Before you speak, listen. Before you spend, earn. Before you write, think. Before you quit, try. Before you die, live.” That plain sequence captures why readers still find him useful: Ward did not make encouragement vague. He gave it steps.