Myrle Olive Ward was born on December 5, 1897 in Hamburg, Iowa, the fourth of the eight children of Cyrus and Augusta Miller Ward. She received a B.A. from Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Mo. For four years she taught high school English and Latin in Missouri and Iowa and then spent two years at the College of Missions in Indianapolis, Ind. After that she began her thirty-year career as a missionary for the Disciples of Christ Church.
Her first assigment was in Jamaica from 1925 to 1928. She then spent twenty years in the Belgian Congo (now Zaire). A family illness prompted her to return to the United States in 1959 and settle in Red Oak, Iowa. During her years in Red Oak, she was active in church and community activities and was widely honored for her outstanding service. She died of leukemia in 1992.
From the description of Papers of Myrle Olive Ward, 1876-1992 (bulk 1930-1950). (University of Iowa Libraries). WorldCat record id: 233101816
