Kelda Ward, the head majorette of Auburn University's first majorette line who made history at her University while impacting many lives to come after her, died Saturday, March 17, in her home. She was 91.
Ward will be buried in her Auburn Marching Band alumni shirt and jacket after dying in her sleep. Like their mother, Kelda's three children, Leigh Nix, Jimmy Ward and Larry Ward, all attended Auburn University.
She was born in Kansas City, Missouri, October 17, 1926. Nix said Kelda's time as a dancer and eventual twirler started at Shawnee Mission High School in Kansas City, Kansas, where she spent much of her time involved with the band.
Her experience as a young girl led her to her role as the leader of the University's first line after she married her late husband, Jim Ward, and moved to Auburn with him.
He was training for the U.S. Navy when he met a young woman in Olathe, Kansas, in 1945. Jim is from Geneva, Alabama, and was already enrolled at Auburn when the two met at a military event. By 1947, that young woman was twirling at Auburn University with Jim cheering on the sidelines.
Marching "was her proudest thing," Nix said. "When they started the Alumni Band, she would come back and march with them in the '90s. She totally loved it."
Kelda was walking around campus one day when one of the popular football players at the time attempted to swoop her up. Nix laughed recalling her mother telling the story. She said her mother was flattered, but of course, she was married and so she scampered away.
Nix remembered her mother telling stories about wild trips with the band to Georgia Tech games. Kelda and the rest of the Auburn band would stick their heads out of the bus windows and scream Auburn cheers for those around to listen.
Since she was married, Jim would tag along. A free ride to the game was something a fan like Jim could get on board with.
Nix said her mother was terribly passionate, creative and intelligent. Jimmy Ward, Kelda's son, said he thinks he got his smarts from his mother.
Also following in his mother's footsteps, Jimmy attended Auburn, graduating with a degree in architecture. He's now a partner at Ward-Scott Architecture in Tuscaloosa.
Nix said she didn't have much choice when deciding where to study, either. Auburn was always the only choice. She attended her first game when she was about 8 years old after her father started buying season tickets.
Kelda brought Nix up to follow in her own footsteps, teaching her to twirl in high school. Nix knew how much Kelda's time on the majorette line meant to her.
"We swam on swim teams and did science projects and she was involved in everything we did," Nix said.
Jimmy remembers watching her draw house plans as a child and continue working toward her dreams despite having never finished her education at Auburn. Jimmy said you would never have known she didn't have a degree from the talent she possessed.
"She was a good person and always taught us to do the right thing," Jimmy said. "She was a big influence in my life, especially from a career point of view."
In her later years – after working at an architecture firm in Birmingham for 20 years – she moved to Auburn where she drew plans for the house she and Nix lived in for the 25 years before she died.
Nix said her mother loved living in Auburn because she could always plan on seeing family during football season. Until she was unable, Kelda returned for the Alumni Band performance every year and twirled her heart out.
Kelda is survived by seven grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. Nix said Auburn, her children, her church and her creations — whether big or small — were the most important parts of her life.
"She had good friends, everyone loved her and she was well thought of," Jimmy said.
A memorial service for Kelda Ward will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, March 22, at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church. A family visitation will take place one hour before and the family requests that donations be made to Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in lieu of flowers.
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