By Susan Shinn Turner
“Seek justice, give generously and love lavishly.”
If you think that’s an odd mission statement for a law firm, then you didn’t know Janet Ward Black.
Janet Ward, principal owner of Ward Black Law in Greensboro, died the afternoon of Nov. 2 — All Saints Sunday — after being diagnosed with ALS in May. It was a diagnosis she kept quiet until after her death. She worked feverishly in those interim months to leave her firm in the best possible shape.
Those of us left behind — family, friends, colleagues — are shocked and sad. To me, the world is less bright without Janet Ward in it.
Janet Ward was a native of Kannapolis and I’m from China Grove. I first became aware of her when she was crowned Miss North Carolina 1980, when I was an awkward ninth-grader at China Grove Junior High School. So. Awkward.
Over the years, we became friends because of the articles I wrote about her for the Salisbury Post. When Facebook came along, we’d compare notes about having good hair days. Janet Ward always did — me, not so much.
Every year during Advent leading to Christmas Day, Janet Ward posted parts of the Christmas story each day. I so hope someone will do that for her this year, because I always looked forward to it.
In Rowan County, she was the keynote speaker at Girls State for 35 years.
Janet Ward was a woman of myriad accomplishments — to the point that you’d hate her if you didn’t love her so much.
She had beauty and brains — not only the crown, but an undergraduate degree from Davidson College and a law degree from Duke.
Yet she was just as beautiful on the inside.
Her firm’s mission statement was also her personal mission statement.
Seek justice. In a nod to her being a former beauty queen, Janet Ward thought it was more important to be Batman than to be a princess. She had the mask and cape to prove it. Batman sought justice against criminals and was disciplined and driven. So was Janet Ward, Pastor Maria Hanlin said in her homily on Nov. 14.
Give generously. In 2013, Janet Ward decided to set aside 10 percent of everything the firm earned annually — its gross revenue — which it would then donate to best-in-class non-profits locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. She had the people of Matthew 25:36-40 in mind: the hungry, thirsty, sick, jailed, naked and the stranger. Her staff thought she’d lost her mind.
But then something happened: the firm took in more money that year than it ever had before. Janet Ward insisted that the giving be kept anonymous.
Love lavishly. “She expressed her love so easily,” Pastor Hanlin said. “Her next-to-last text to me on All Saints Sunday was, ‘I love you.’ That is her message to all of us.”
Gerard Davidson, her “long-suffering husband,” (Janet Ward’s words) noted, “Janet Ward finished strong, confident in her faith. And she wants us to, as well.
“Janet Ward pointed everything back to God.”
In recent days, I’m certain she drew strength from another favorite Bible verse, Isaiah 41:10: “Fear not, for I am with you. Be not afraid for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.”
Janet Ward asked that we remember her with donations to ICM (icm.org/jwb), an international Christian ministry that partners with local churches to build worship centers and equip disciples in underserved communities worldwide.
One last thing: Janet Ward and I continued to keep up with each other, primarily on Facebook, even after I married and moved to Raleigh eight years ago.
One dreary morning, I was driving to the library. A prominent attorney had recently died, and I drove past the church where the service was about to begin. The churchyard was full of attorneys. I knew this because they were all wearing dark suits.
Then, smack dab in the middle of all those men, I saw a brilliant splash of yellow, bright as the sun. It was my friend, Janet Ward Black.
I love you, Janet Ward. I’ll see you on the other side.
Freelance writer Susan Shinn Turner lives in Raleigh, where she still has bad hair days.
