Mrs Ward was unashamedly proud of all her children and what they have achieved. Wairarapa woman Judy Ward, mother of the film producer Vincent Ward, has died in Greytown, aged 88.
German-born Mrs Ward, whose birth name was Edith Rosenbacher, served in the Jewish division of the British Army during World War II.
The story of how she met and married a Kiwi soldier and shifted to a new life in New Zealand has been the subject of documentaries and feature stories.
Edith, who became known as Judy, was on a troop train bound for Jerusalem and army discharge in 1945 when the train stopped in the early hours at a trackside cafeteria.
The young woman soldier had tea and sandwiches, and having a sandwich left over offered it to two soldiers sitting behind her, one being Pat Ward, a New Zealander.
He was heading to Lebanon for a holiday but that small offering changed his mind and within 10 minutes he left the train when he saw her getting off.
Within a week the two were engaged and a few months later they married in a chapel at Maadi, a suburb of Cairo, Egypt.
An eventful journey by sea to New Zealand, which doubled as their honeymoon, followed. On arrival, they headed to Wairarapa.
At first they lived with Mr Ward's parents at Hinakura before moving on to a small block of land given to them by his parents at Morisons Bush, near Greytown.
They at first lived in a ramshackle caravan without power, running water or cooking facilities, then moved into a derelict 100-year-old house on the corner of Fabian's Rd.
Mr Ward set about clearing the land of scrub and gorse, adding to and developing the farm. In 1950, while he was stripping paint off the old house with a blowtorch, it caught fire and burnt down.
The Greytown community rallied round to help the young couple and over the next two years they set their minds to building a home on the site.
They were to live there many years, raising their four children - Ingrid, Marianna, Paddy and Vincent.
When their family had become adults, Mr and Mrs Ward shifted into town, buying a home in Reading St, Greytown.
Mr Ward was active in the Returned Services Association and made an OBE. He died in 1991.
Mrs Ward spoke later of her early years in Hamburg, Germany, where she lived until Hitler rose to power and Jewish children began to be expelled from schools.
Her immediate family fled Germany "just in time", although an aunt died in a concentration camp.
Mrs Ward was unashamedly proud of all her children and what they have achieved.
She said Vincent Ward, who has achieved international fame with movies such as Vigil, Map of the Human Heart, River Queen and The Navigator, was one of four "who have done well".
Judy Ward died at home on Tuesday after a brief illness.
A funeral service is to be held at St Luke's Anglican Church, Greytown, tomorrow.