Ward O. Griffen Jr. ’49

Ward died July 21, 2020.

A psychology major and a member of Key & Seal, Ward played tennis, participated in Theatre Intime and Triangle Club, and went on to Cornell Medical School. His first job was at the University of Minnesota Medical School. In 1967 he joined the department of surgery at the University of Kentucky. He became chairman of the department, and at the time of his retirement in 1984 he held the chair endowed in his name.

From 1984 to 1994, when he retired again, Ward served as the executive director of the American Board of Surgery, which certifies surgeons in the United States.

Ward and Margaret owned a summer home in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and they spent many hours there fishing and gardening. He wrote that “a liberal education is the greatest gift for any career,” a comment many of us Princetonians certainly appreciate.

Ward is survived by his wife, Margaret; and children Peter, Mary Ellen, Steven, Colleen, Timothy, Margaret Mary, and Leah.