PHAEDRA WARD

Phaedra Deidra Ward was born to Theola Smith and Jerome Ward on July 24, 1963 in Baltimore, MD .She was a graduate of Patterson High School and completed several hours at a local community college. At 21 years old, she gave birth to her daughter, Kentra Diana Tillman. But that's the stuff everyone already knows. There's much more to her story then that. Phaedra battled addiction for most of her life. And she spent a great deal of time outwardly communicating the challenges of this human experience and living with multiple diseases inclusive of addiction. She advocated for anyone and everyone that needed advocating for. She was silly and goofy, sweet and generous, and full of ideas that manifested into creative outlets, such as a book of poetry entitled Recoveroetry Phaedra loved to write, talk, laugh, dance, travel, cook, and engage in the cathartic process of cleaning without their permission. She was known for walking into someone's home and cleaning without their permission. Some may view this as lack of boundaries (and in many ways, it is ), however, if your place of rest was dirty, when Phaedra entered, she wanted to contribute by making it more comfortable and cleaner. She believed that boundary was worth crossing if it meant changing a space to reflect godliness. She was a lover of children, animals, the Animal Planet and Discovery channels, and has friends of all ages. Like her mother, Phaedra always kept books and toys in her home to accommodate younger friends. She valued the art of writing and spent a great deal of time communicating her love to friends and family (both chosen and biological) by writing cards, letters, and poetry. Phaedra made a point to convey her pride, joy and gratitude to her daughter using written word. She welcomed any opportunity to sit with peers to engage in conversation about celebratory or troubling as she believed in the therapeutic process and advocated for mental health. Despite her hurdles and discouragement, Phaedra believed herself to be a work in progress like the rest of us. When Phaedra liked or loved something, she'd say, “ahh huh!” or “and how!” Although Phaedra grew up in the Baptist Church and was baptized, she was not a religious person. She identified as a spiritual being that understood the value in exploring and finding the meaning within everyone's religion. Phaedra valued spirituality over the confines of religious practice and understood what it meant to seek Heaven on Earth. She did her best to evolve with people and not technology. She often felt discouraged by the ways we as humans disconnect from each other only to look at screens. Phaedra saw people for who they were/are. Sometimes she struggled with what she saw but even in the midst of that struggle, she never stopped showing love. To a fault, Phaedra loved others more than she loved herself. There are so many people she will be missed by. Our hope is that you will continue to celebrate her life because that's what she would want more than anything. And in doing so, you celebrate your own and actively engage in the process of making yourself a better individual with each moment that you're able to breathe.

Tributes

PHAEDRA WARD

July 24, 1963 - August 29, 2019