CANADA MILITARY NEWS- The most telling Obit of decent good wonderful honest everyday people - the pure Nova Scotia- the heart of us .... weaves the love and devotion of Ida and Clifford Ward- taken horrible but would have 4given because u just cannot kill the soul of goodness and decency -God bless the Wards and God bless our Nova Scotia and Canada -Magnificent and real, raw and righteous

This is the Nova Scotia that many oldies know.... the generosity, fellowship and goodwill.... upon reading this beautiful article a more dignified and beautiful spoken and worship send off 2 Heaven’s gates could not be given....   this truly tells of the Nova Scotia that most/many of us grew up with and know.... POLITE, RESPECTFUL AND HELP OTHERS....  on this day..... what greater send off could not be given .... such gentle goodness.... like Nova Scotia is.... such honour..... Peace of Christ....

Had 2 hold on 2 this... because it allows an old women 2 still remember – 4 all the evil out there..... in our hearts and souls and actions... there is so much goodwill in our beautiful nova scotia..... Peace of Christ  Ida and Clifford Ward-  never knew ya.... but the intentional love and care of God’s best here on earth.... show us.... goodness still exists....these words obviously don’t cover all the good u have done... but they heal and tell so many others.... that Nova Scotia has decent and good people and the old ways truly were honorable....

WARD FAMILY FUNERAL -Hundreds pay respects to victims

TRURO BUREAU FRANCIS CAMPBELL fcampbell@herald.ca @CH_HubBub MIDDLE MUSQUODOBOIT — Sadness slowly ascended the steps of the little wooden church in Middle Musquodoboit and envel­oped the overflow congregation for most of Wednesday afternoon.

Hundreds of people pushed into the Middleton United Church on Highway 224 to bid an oftentimes tearful farewell to Ida Raye Ward, 74, her husband, Clifford William Ward, 81, and their daughter, Mildred Ann Ward, 54, all of Wyses Corner.

The three were found dead after a house fire on Old Guysbor­ough Road on Jan. 7.

RCMP have since charged Mildred’s son, Codey Reginald Hennigar, 30, also of Wyses Corner, with three counts of second-degree murder.

“The last hours or days of a person’s life does not define their life," said Linda Yates, the minis­ter who presided over the triple funeral.

“Do what you need to do, feel what you need to feel," she told those gathered, beseeching them to remember that love is what brought them all out on a cold afternoon.

Yates led the congregation in a personalized prayer.

“Heart of the Universe, you have shared with us the lives of Ida, Bill and Ann. Even as we struggle to accept the circum­stances of their deaths, our hearts are filled with gratitude for all the goodness in them."

The speakers who followed shared examples. Mildred Ward’s daughters, Chandra Hennigar and Nikita Carstensen, talked about how their mother taught them to be polite, respectful and to help others. They vowed to “move forward with love and grace," honouring their mother’s legacy of “everlasting love."

Don Lohnes, adopted by the elder Wards in 1976, said he was one of more than 20 children the couple cared for over the years.

Lohnes said he initially had misgivings about working on the farm with his new parents, but he “found a family who would love me no matter what I did."

Lohnes described Clifford Ward as a man “who taught his kids how to love, not by saying the words but by his actions."

Ward, he said, was a thrifty master of gadgetry who was much more likely to rig things up to help with the farm chores instead of going to a store to buy expensive tools.

“Dad was never afraid to learn," he said.

Lohnes described his mother as a warm, welcoming and accepting person who always had enough food ready for family, friends and anyone else who might drop by the farm. He said his mother loved gardening, scrapbooking and crafts, and that she was like a counsellor for any neighbours who had problems.

“I remember coming home in my college days, sitting on the woodbox talking to her until the wee hours of the morning. She was the chicken soup for my soul."

Lohnes said the Wards “paid it forward" long before the term became popular.

“Mom and Dad, we love you, we miss you, we thank you for the life you have given us," he said.

As red-eyed parishioners shifted in their seats or made their way to the exit for a breath of air, Yates spoke about how many were surprised that Hennigar was vis­ible in photographs or that he was mentioned in the obituary.

“It’s not a surprise to anyone who knew Ida and Bill," Yates said. “That’s how they lived. Love does not save everyone, but it is love that will save anyone."

What would the Wards say about the whole situation, Yates asked.

“They would say do whatever you need to grieve but, throughout it all, dare to love and dare to live."

Yates summed up her thoughts about Hennigar as the 90-minute service came to an end.

“Codey, too, needs our pray­ers," she said, because if the alleg­ations are true, he will have to grapple with knowing “that he killed the three people who would love him unconditionally."

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One of the victims found dead after a Jan. 7 fire is carried from Middleton United Church after a funeral in Middle Musquodoboit on Wednesday. TIM KROCHAK • Staff

GO REST HIGH ON THAT MOUNTAIN- YOUR WORK ON EARTH IS DONE- Vince Gill