Tracy Ward, 51,of Lockhart, died Thursday, Oct. 31, 2013, during flooding in Central Texas. He was passionate about two things: educating children with special needs and music, friends and family.
Ward, who lived in Lockhart, was heading to work at Smithville Middle School on Thursday morning when his vehicle hydroplaned on FM 20 near Track Road in Caldwell County. His vehicle landed in a water-filled ditch, and when he got out he was swept away by rushing water.
Ward went to high school in Sierra Vista, Ariz., but grew up all over the world as the son of a soldier. He was a high school football player who followed his high school sweetheart to Texas in 1980 where they both attended Southwest TexasÂ
State University (now Texas State). The couple married and divorced two years after their daughter, Jessica Leah, was born. She lives in Colorado.
Ward started his career in education and took an interest in children with special needs or who came from troubled backgrounds. He previously worked for the Hays school district and Child Protective Services.
When he wasn’t teaching, he was indulging his other passion - music. A fan of nearly every music genre, his CD collection totaled more than 4,000 discs. He attended South by Southwest, Austin City Limits and other music festivals, and he was a fixture of the local music scene for many years.
