Ellen Ward, who had received numerous awards for her work in the LGBTQ community and served as councilmember and mayor for the City of Signal Hill, died in her home at 7:15am on Tuesday, Aug. 11 at the age of 78. She was surrounded by loved ones and her dogs Queenie and Snappy, according to Ron Sylvester, president and chairman of the LGBTQ Center of Long Beach.
“Ellen was a friend and role model for me,” Sylvester said. “She was one of the pioneers of our local LGBTQ movement back when it wasn’t always popular to do so. Her leadership and dedication has helped make greater Long Beach better for all of us.”
Part of her impact in the gay community is the fact that Ward opened Que Sera bar in 1975, a business she owned and operated for 23 years. The establishment is also known as the place where musician Melissa Etheridge got her start.
However, Ward’s scope of influence surpassed simply being the owner of a gay bar before homosexuality was as acceptable as it is today, according to Ilse Benz, who now owns the bar and met Ward there in the late 1970s when Benz was a patron. Benz, who is from Stuttgart, Germany, said they bonded because Europeans like herself are very politically minded, and so was Ward.
As Benz described her relationship with Ward to the Signal Tribune, her voice cracked when she referred to Ward as the woman who helped her make a new home in the United States.
“I’m heartbroken to lose my mentor, my rock,” Benz said. “She had also created a home away from home for me, and I’m just so saddened by her leaving.”
Benz said Ward would keep Que Sera open on holidays to offer it as a safe haven for gay people who were not welcome to join their families.
[aesop_image imgwidth=”400px” img=”http://www.signaltribunenewspaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Ellen-Ward-3.jpg” align=”left” lightbox=”on” caption=”As mayor and councilmember in Signal Hill, Ward started popular programs such as the Mayor’s Clean-up and a community yard sale.” captionposition=”left”] “We could never be closed on holidays at the Que Sera,” Benz said. “People got put out by their families and would not be invited on Thanksgiving. So she wanted to make sure everybody knew there was a place they could come to and get a turkey dinner or, you know, a hot dog for Fourth of July— to prevent suicides. During the holidays, I had to work for 30-some-odd years, every holiday— never had a holiday off— because I truly believe that she is right. That it would maybe make a difference, even if it’s just one person. A door is open that they can walk in.”
Benz ended up serving as manager for 20 years before purchasing the bar from Ward in 1996.
Ward’s impact on the local gay community did not stop there. She also served on the board of directors for The LGBTQ Center of Long Beach for many years and was the founder and executive director of AIDS Walk Long Beach for nine years. She received many awards for her service, including Long Beach Lambda Democratic Club’s Woman of the Year, The Center’s 2015 Community Icon Award and a LACE Award from the Los Angeles LGBT Center, according to Sylvester. Ward also served as grand marshal for the Long Beach Lesbian and Gay Pride Parade.
Signal Hill Councilmember Michael Noll met Ward during her work serving the gay community. Referring to her as “a very dynamic lady,” Noll said she was really dedicated to the cities of Signal Hill and Long Beach, including the gay, lesbian and transgender community.
“I met Ellen about 40 years ago,” Noll said. “I served as chair of One in Long Beach, which is [now] the Center, and so did Ellen and several of our other good friends— people that served, and they became good friends. And Ellen was certainly delightful and one of them. She was always trying to help other people.”
In describing Ward as dynamic, Noll said their carpools to a monthly meeting would afford the two of them the opportunity to have meaningful talks.
“We used to ride to the sanitation meetings every month together and chit-chat,” he said. “You’d give her your version of it, and she waited and then came out and made a decision. She wasn’t afraid to tell you yes or no or maybe. She was dynamic in that sense.”
Noll also commended Ward’s work as a civic leader.
“I think she did a good job,” Noll said. “Her concern was not only with the employees, but with the individual citizen of Signal Hill. She really cared about things. She started many different programs and was very, very involved with the City.”
[aesop_image imgwidth=”400px” img=”http://www.signaltribunenewspaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Screen-Shot-2015-08-14-at-9.13.52-AM.png” credit=”Neena Strichart/Signal Tribune” align=”right” lightbox=”on” caption=”Ellen Ward’s sister Marlene Carter, Ward’s wife Pat Crosby and Crosby’s son Don Jones at a vigil Wednesday night for the former Signal Hill mayor-councilmember who was well known as a leader within the local gay community” captionposition=”right”] Prior to being elected as the first openly gay woman to the Signal Hill City Council, Ward served as a member of the city’s Parks & Recreation Commission and Civil Service Commission. Ward was elected to the Signal Hill City Council in 2001 and served through 2013. She served two terms as mayor, from March 2004 to March 2005 and March 2009 to March 2010, according to Signal Hill City Manager Charlie Honeycutt, who added that Ward had started popular programs such as the Mayor’s Clean-up and the community yard sale.
“For those of us who had the pleasure of knowing or working with Ellen, we’ll remember how she had a true love for life, was very caring and always saw the bright side of things,” Honeycutt said.
Signal Hill Councilmember Tina Hansen referred to Ward as a mentor, friend and supporter. She also said Ward was instrumental in her decision to run for city council. “She was the consummate public servant,” Hansen said. “She loved her city, her community, her friends and family and, above all, life. I was honored to be among her friends, and my husband and I have many happy memories of time spent with her and her wife, Pat Crosby. We will miss her very much.”
Ward’s city leadership was not, however, limited to Signal Hill. She also worked for many years as a city administrator, including 10 years with the City of Santa Ana as superintendent of Recreation, three years as director of Community Services for the City of Paramount, five years as deputy city manager for the City of Hawaiian Gardens, eight years as director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Artesia and five years as recreation director for the County of Los Angeles.
In recent years, Ward could be seen at various events celebrating the lives and accomplishments of prominent members of the gay community. She served on a 15-member steering committee for a Historical Society of Long Beach exhibit entitled Coming Out in Long Beach, and she provided comments for the exhibit about her own personal experiences. She was also among hundreds at The Grand event center in Long Beach to celebrate the United States Supreme Court’s historic ruling on June 26, 2013 that effectively allowed same-sex couples to lawfully wed in California and assured their marriages would be federally recognized. In May of the previous year, she was honored during a groundbreaking the City of Long Beach hosted for The Harvey Milk Promenade Park, which is the the first in the country to be named after the slain gay-rights leader and the first park in the city named in honor of a member of the LGBTQ community.
[aesop_image imgwidth=”400px” img=”http://www.signaltribunenewspaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Ellen-Ward-4.jpg” align=”left” lightbox=”on” caption=”Ellen Ward, (left) the first openly gay woman to be elected to the Signal Hill City Council, stands behind the bar at The Que Sera with the establishment’s current owner Ilse Benz. Ward used to own the lesbian bar and live-entertainment venue, known as the place where musician Melissa Etheridge got her start.” captionposition=”left”] It was in that park Wednesday night that Ward’s loved ones organized a candlelight vigil to honor the woman who served so many local cities and touched the lives of countless individuals who needed a place where they could feel at home.
Ward’s wife, Pat Crosby, spoke to the Signal Tribune the day after the vigil and pointed out Ward’s courage in serving the gay and lesbian community decades ago.
“She was a community icon and a trailblazer when it was still a dangerous thing to do,” Crosby said. “I loved her very, very much, and we had a lot of fun together.”
Ward is survived by her partner of 21 years and wife Pat Crosby, as well as son Don Jones and sister Marlene Carter. McKenzie Mortuary is providing services. The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made in her name to The LGBTQ Center of Long Beach, 2017 East 4th St., Long Beach, CA 90814. Visit centerlb.org/donate .
