Denise Ruth Ward

A LETTER FROM CAROLYN “CARA” FELLRATH-COHEN

I met Denise Ward in the summer of 2003, shortly after finding a lifelong best friend in her daughter, Julia Hennings, who would later become one of the founders of the Fellrath Cohen Ward Foundation. After meeting Denise only twice, I found myself sitting on her porch, sharing perfectly cooked artichokes and some other expertly crafted meal, when she gifted me a bathing suit. It was a color I loved, and it fit perfectly. I had never mentioned my size or my preference for turquoise. To this day, I have never owned another bathing suit that fit me so well. Equally memorable was the fact that the price tag was intentionally still attached: $8.00.

Over the next nearly twenty years, I witnessed, heard stories about, and was often on the receiving end of Denise's remarkable ability to identify, locate, and purchase, at a delightfully reasonable price, the exact thing someone needed. From a portable shower to the missing piece of an antique set, Denise had a gift for finding what seemed impossible to find. Somehow, and in a way that always appeared effortless, she completed collections, solved problems, and gave gifts that carried a little bit of her magic with them.

After a slow and brutal battle with the progressive neurological disease corticobasal degeneration, Denise passed away in 2022. The impact of that loss is impossible to put into words.

In the years since, as I've worked on projects with community organizations, I often find myself thinking about Denise and her unique ability to create magic through giving. I wish I could share with her the excitement I know we would have enjoyed together when I discover a rack of high-quality backpacks marked down on clearance, find children's sneakers discounted by 90%, or combine a sale, coupons, and a gift card promotion to stretch a donation even further. More than anything, I hope to do justice to Denise's talent for finding exactly what was needed and turning something practical into something meaningful. We both understood that sometimes the magic isn't in the gift itself, but in how it makes someone feel.

I am enormously grateful to Denise's husband, Jim, and to their daughters, Elissa, Julia, and Laura, for giving their blessing to include Denise's name in the Fellrath Cohen Ward Foundation. In Jim's words, Denise was practical, an exceptional problem-solver, and a firm believer in the goodness of people. It is a great honor to carry forward those values and do our best to reflect them through the work of the Fellrath Cohen Ward Foundation.

Thank you for your support.