The family of the late Adam Ward was welcomed with open arms to over 1,000 mourners. Charles “Buddy” Ward shared hugs with everyone he came in contact with visiting his son’s open casket.
Salem High School opened its doors to the Ward family and community to hold a vigil for the alumnus. The 27-year-old cameraman for Roanoke television station WDBJ-TV, along with reporter Alison Parker, were gunned down last week by a former co-worker.
The family of Ward, a 2007 graduate of the school, asked visitors to wear colors of his favorite teams, Virginia Tech and Salem High. He played football for the high school’s Spartans on two state championship teams. His funeral is set for Tuesday at First Baptist Church in Roanoke.
Ward’s casket was dressed Virginia Tech, from which he graduated in 2011 with a degree in communications. Ward's body was dressed in a Virginia Tech cap and white shirt, while a large bouquet of orange and dark-red flowers was draped over the casket’s lower end.
Thousands of viewers across the central Virginia community watched the shooting, and the footage quickly spread to millions on social media. The gunman shot himself as police pursued his car, dying hours later.
Ward was engaged to morning show producer Melissa Ott, who had recently gotten a job in Charlotte, North Carolina. She was celebrating her last day working in Roanoke when the shooting happened. Ward and Ott were planning to get married in July 2016.
“Adam, I will never find a man so happy, selfless, protective, funny, or charming like you. You were the one. You understood me. My soulmate. I will always love you. Please watch over me and keep me strong. Enjoy the endless tech games in your heaven. I love you so much,” Ott, who also attended Monday’s reception, wrote in a Facebook post.
Ward and Parker had been on an early morning assignment at Smith Mountain Lake when Vester Lee Flanagan walked up and shot them and Vicki Gardner, a Chamber of Commerce official, with a 9 mm Glock pistol during a live interview. Ward and Parker died at the scene and Gardner is recovering in a hospital.
