Robert Thomas Ward

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Robert Ward (born February 7, 1920, in Jersey City, New Jersey) was an important contributor to the scientific field of electron microscopy. His education ranged from Public School #23, Montclair State College, and Columbia University.

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[edit] Early Life

Robert Ward was born in the bedroom of 213 Sip Avenue to Harman Matthew Eichwald (who later changed his last name to Ward) and Agnes Mary Whelan, and was named Robert after his brother Herman's favorite playmate, Robert McKenna. He was the youngest of three brothers, John being the oldest, and Herman, the middle child. Young Herman used to occasionally terrorize his youngest brother by punching him in the arm and making him say, "Herman is kind," although, as their age difference seemed less and less significant, the two grew to have a warmer and kinder relationship than that of small rival siblings.

Generally absorbed in the inner workings of his mind, friends would seek out young Bobby for conversation, since he was quietly humorous, a great listener, and had a beautiful singing voice. Notably amongst his childhood friends were Joe Lambiase, a self-taught musician from a large, very poor family in lower Jersey City.

A singer and pianist, Joe built his own piano from two discarded pianos and taught himself how to play on the combined result. He played with missing notes, and often heard them for the first time when he played for an assembly on their piano.

Another notable friend of his was Willie Krauss, who had left school at the age of 13 to join the Ringling Brothers Circus, using the money to help support his family during the Great Depression. A very talented athlete, Willie once surprised young Bobby by jumping off the side of a building and hanging off it by the tips of his fingers.

[edit] Secondary Education and Careers

After high school, Robert deliberated thoughtfully about which college to attend and decided to follow his brother, Herman, to Montclair State College, where he majored in English and minored in history, also taking time to sing in the school's choir. (Opera was a great love of his, and, as he grew much older, his younger relatives delighted in the occasions in which they could hear him sing.)

After he obtained his degree, he got a job teaching history in Bloomfield High School, where they also made him teach civics, economics, and international relations. Having six classes one hour classes to teach every day, along with the two hour preparation for each course, poor Robert found that he had only six hours left every day to sleep and eat. By Christmas, he left his position at Bloomfield High and went to work with machine tool operations during World War II.

Wanting to attend Colorado State University, young Robert took to the road and hitchhiked from New Jersey to Colorado, his most memorable experience from the trip being driven a short distance by a cheerful alcoholic. Unfortunately, when he reached Colorado, he found out that the university did not have night classes, and he needed a day job to support himself. He made his way to California and eventually hitchhiked back to New Jersey, so that he could major in science.

At Columbia University, Robert worked during the day and took night classes, completing majors in chemistry and zoology after six years. Another ten years were dedicated to getting his M.S. and PhD. in Zoology, by the time he was forty. He went to work for Downstate Medical School, teaching anatomy and doing cellular research with the electron microscope. A pioneer in the field, he helped research better ways of staining electron microscope samples, devised a new way of cutting samples (until the diamond-edged knife was created by another scientist, which he found to be a more practical tool), and, in 1984, one of his micrographs was designated "a citation classic," as it had been cited 705 times. This unusual award was included in his scientist's C.V.

[edit] Family Life and Later Years

Robert married twice, his first wife, Betty Wallace, who was a very intelligent secretary who was an extremely skilled lab assistant. Unfortunately, her family would not pay for her education, and she eventually succumbed to alcoholism, which took her life after they had been married for nearly ten years. Robert loved his first wife very dearly, and tears would sometimes fill his eyes when he talked about her in later years.

His second wife was Dr. Elizabeth Barnes, who obtained her PhD. after they got married. She had been married before to the WWII veteran, Richard Barnes, an amiable man who eventually died of cancer when their youngest son was eighteen. They had four children together, and Elizabeth was quite devastated by the loss of her first husband. Originally vowing never to marry again, she eventually met Robert, and the two knew that they were in love on their second date, when Robert let her eat food off his plate. A romantic, he eventually shaved his beard so that he could feel her cheek against his. She asked her sons what they thought of her remarrying, and her youngest son Jim told her that he expected that was what their father would have wanted. Elizabeth's children and grandchildren welcomed Robert into the family, and his grandchildren remember him best as "Grandpa," adoring him for his marvelous gift of storytelling. His brother Herman's children also loved him, and he liked to give them expensive Christmas gifts, which they also loved.

Eventually, he and Elizabeth moved down to Macon, GA, to live near Elizabeth's youngest son, Jim, and his family. Jim's two children loved to visit their grandparents and listen to Robert's stories of a safer time, when hitchhiking across the country was a reasonable option for travel. He eventually died of congestive heart failure, on November 19, 2003. He was very much loved by everyone who knew him, and his passing resulted in many tears from his family and friends.

His contributions to the scientific community, however, are still accessible via the Internet and scientific journals.

With special thanks to Herman Ward, for without his "Family Portraits," I would not have been able to write this article.

[edit] Works Cited

  • Ward, Herman. Family Portraits. Belle Mead, 1988.
  • Stempack, Jerome G.; Ward, Robert T. "An Improved Staining Method for Electron Microscopy." Journal of Cell Biology, Vol. 22, No. 3 (Sept., 1964) pp. 697-701
  • Ward, Robert & Elizabeth. "Evidence for Diaphragms in the Pores of Annulate Lamellae and the Nuclear Membrane." Journal of Morphology, Vol. 146, No. 1 (1975) pp. 81-95