Gina C. Benedetto-Ward Fund

The Gina C. Benedetto-Ward Fund was established by her son, C. Macaulay Ward, Jr. and his wife, Paula L. Ward in order to commemorate his mother’s life and to perpetuate her good works on behalf of others. Gina “Jean” C. Benedetto-Ward was born in Wakefield, MA on October 2, 1919. She died on November 6, 2001 after a brief illness, at the age of 82. Gina “Jean” C. Benedetto-Ward was a graduate of Wakefield High School class of 1937. She was also a graduate of Bryant and Stratton Secretarial School. After school, at the age of 21, she went to Washington, D.C. to work for the War Department and later worked in the office of Congressman Angier Goodwin until 1953. She married in 1953 and gave birth to two sons. In 1981, she retired from federal service at the Federal Aviation Administration, Burlington, MA.

Jean’s independent and courageous spirit led her to a career and a life of travel far from home before she settled down in her mid-thirties to raise a family. She was the first of her siblings to graduate from high school or to attain additional education beyond high school. This was done at a time almost before women’s liberation and at a time when young Roman Catholic women did not leave their father’s home without a husband.

She was intelligent, conscientious, exceedingly wise, and always concerned and caring of others. She loved to work in her yard, to dance, to bake sweet desserts and she loved to sit quietly, read or watch TV and crochet a masterpiece for somebody else to enjoy. Jean practiced what she preached. She often said, “Actions speak louder than words.” This she taught by her firm example. She was a woman who demonstrated strong character in the face of adversity and fearlessly pursued her goals. She faced whatever reality presented to her and never shrank from her responsibilities. The Wards hope that the students who will be helped through this fund “will find their pursuits in life to be fruitful and that they will use their skills to leave this world a better place than they found it.”