<\/p>\n
Gerry Ward, a former NBA player, Ridgefield entrepreneur and founder of the Ridgefield Basketball Association, died April 10 at the age of 84. He is pictured here in South Africa with his wife Diana Ward.<\/p>\n
Courtesy of Diana Ward<\/p>\n
Gerry Ward, a former NBA player, Ridgefield entrepreneur and founder of the Ridgefield Basketball Association, died April 10 at the age of 84.<\/p>\n
Courtesy of Diana Ward<\/p>\n
Gerry Ward, a former NBA player, Ridgefield entrepreneur and founder of the Ridgefield Basketball Association, died April 10 at the age of 84. He is pictured here with his wife Diana Ward.<\/p>\n
Courtesy of Diana Ward<\/p>\n
Gerry Ward, a former NBA player, Ridgefield entrepreneur and founder of the Ridgefield Basketball Association, died April 10 at the age of 84. He is pictured here in South Africa\u00a0with his wife Diana Ward.<\/p>\n
Courtesy of Diana Ward<\/p>\n
Gerry Ward, a former NBA player, Ridgefield entrepreneur and founder of the Ridgefield Basketball Association, died April 10 at the age of 84. He is pictured here with his wife Diana Ward.<\/p>\n
Courtesy of Diana Ward<\/p>\n
Gerry Ward, a former NBA player, Ridgefield entrepreneur and founder of the Ridgefield Basketball Association, died April 10 at the age of 84.<\/p>\n
Courtesy of Diana Ward<\/p>\n
RIDGEFIELD \u2013 Whether he was shooting baskets for the NBA, advocating for wildlife conservation or coaching future basketball players, Gerry Ward<\/a> had \u201cmultiple communities\u201d of friends, family and mentees throughout his life, his loved ones said.<\/p>\n \u201cWherever he went, he made groups of friends and authentically very much cared about people,\u201d said Caroline Ward, a Norwalk<\/a> resident and Ward\u2019s daughter. She said her father wanted his life to be measured by “the communities and the effect he had on those communities and the love he gave and the love he received.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n A former longtime Ridgefield<\/a> resident, Ward died April 10 at the age of 84 after battling Alzheimer\u2019s disease. He had been living at Meadow Ridge<\/a> in Redding for nearly a year at the time of his death, according to Caroline Ward.<\/p>\n During his 50 years in Ridgefield, Ward founded three businesses, including the wholesale company Wildlife Artists Inc., the consulting firm Gerry Ward Associates and Wildlife Trading Company \u2013 all of which were geared toward visitors\u2019 services at zoos nationwide, Caroline Ward said.<\/p>\n She said their family sold Wildlife Artists Inc and Wildlife Trading Company in 2021. Gerry Ward Associates also closed.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Make CT Insider a preferred source on Google to see more of our journalism when you search.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Many of Ridgefield\u2019s former basketball players may remember Ward for his coaching and mentorship on the court as the founder of the Ridgefield Basketball Association.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Diana Ward said her husband started the RBA in the gymnasium at St. Mary Parish after their daughter asked him to teach her how to play basketball.<\/p>\n Since the program\u2019s founding around 1975, Caroline Ward said their father \u201creally changed the trajectory of\u00a0Ridgefield basketball,\u201d while his son, Gary Ward, of Baskin Ridge, N.J., said giving people a chance was \u201cthe real milestone\u201d of Gerry Ward\u2019s work with the\u00a0RBA.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cHe created a community where young athletes learned not just how to play, but how to compete, how to carry themselves, how to be teammates and how to treat others,\u201d Gary Ward said. \u201cFor many in Ridgefield, he was their first coach, but more importantly, he was one of their first mentors. He used the sport as a vehicle to mentor a generation of players, teaching them how to be better people.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n