It is with great sadness that we share the passing of Rob Ward, husband of longtime Historical League member Mary Ward.
Mary served as Historical League president from 1990-1991. The Arizona Historymakers program was co-founded by Mary and she chaired the 2nd Historymakers Gala in 1993. Mary and Rob were generous supporters of both the Historical League and the Arizona Historical Society.
Posted online on May 15, 2026
Published in The Arizona Republic
It is with deep sadness that we share that Rob Ward passed away on Saturday, May 9th, surrounded by his family. Rob was born in Whittier, California, on September 20, 1940 to Barbara Burton and Marcum Ward. Rob is survived by his wife, Mary Ward; their three children: Brian Ward (Nelly); Mark Ward (Melinda); and Heidi Lopez (Manny); nine grandchildren: Tony, Scott, Sophia, Niko, Alex, Izzy, Danica, Leo, and Bear; five great-grandchildren: Bernice (Beemer), Louise (LouLou), Adam, Emmitt, and BB; a huge extended family; and many, many friends. Growing up in Whittier, Rob excelled in sports and carried this passion throughout his life through baseball, pickup basketball at the YMCA, coaching his children’s teams, taking ski vacations with friends and family, and being a longtime season ticket holder for the Suns, Diamondbacks and Cardinals. Rob delighted in taking each of his 9 grandchildren, while in their early teens, on a trip to New York. He would take them to a building at 250 Park Avenue, have their picture taken, take them to lunch and explain the significance of that address. When he graduated from high school, he had planned on going to a junior college close to home until his father brought home a scholarship application from the parent company that employed his dad who repaired pumps in the oil fields. 250 Park Avenue was the address of that company that gave him a scholarship to go to any school of his choice and paid full tuition, room and board, transportation and books. He would then say, that was a pivotal event in his life, which lead him to go on to Cal Berkeley where he met the love of his life, Mary Parkhill Nock (married 62 years) and eventually launched his career in real estate. He would emphasize that none of them would be here if that company hadn’t given him that scholarship. Rob was known by all as a family man and ambassador of fun. He and Mary hosted many fun parties and treated family and friends to excursions on their yacht, the MV Laura, throughout Mexico and Southern California. Sharing a passion for travel, Rob and Mary travelled to more than ninety countries on all seven continents. Rob started his career at Coldwell Banker in Oakland in 1964 and in 1967 transferred to the Phoenix office. The move put Rob at ground zero for the amazing real estate bonanza in Arizona. In 1974 he joined regional mall developer Westcor as a partner under the tutelage of Rusty Lyon, its CEO and founder. Over the next three decades, Westcor became one of the most successful real estate development firms in the southwest. Among their landmark projects are Scottsdale Fashion Square, Arrowhead Town Center, and Chandler Fashion Center, among others. Upon Rusty's retirement in 1994, Rob became CEO of Westcor and charted their path to a successful sale of the company to regional mall giant, Macerich, in 2002. In Rob's business dealing he always chose to invest in people rather than projects, valuing relationships and fostering many across the industry. Reflecting Rob’s accomplishments and his reputation for integrity and leadership, he was elected Chairman of the International Council of Shopping Centers in 2001-2002, and spent many years guiding the organization as a lifetime Trustee. Additionally, he was involved with Greater Phoenix Leadership, GPEC, the Board of Directors at Paradise Valley Country Club, Arizona Bank, Five Star Insurance Company, and served as a trustee at the University of California, Berkeley. With his love of sports he was also a longtime member of the Phoenix Thunderbirds. He continued on as a self described "deal junky," and remained very active in mentoring and investing with others in the Real Estate Industry across all market classes. Above all, Rob made friends wherever he went and will be remembered for his warmth, integrity, generosity and bigger-than-life personality. The family will hold a private celebration of life for Rob. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Keys to Change.
