Lee Ward brings the faithful together with his custom creations
By Jeff Kurowski | On Mission
OCONTO FALLS/GREEN BAY — When asked about his woodworking background, Lee Ward breaks out in a smile.
“It was a hobby that went crazy. I didn’t even have a shop class in high school,” said Ward, co-owner of Ward’s Wood Works LLC with his son, Matthew.
“He started doing projects in our garage and we were running out of room for my vehicle,” said his wife, Betty, with a laugh.
Good thing for St. Anne Parish, Coleman/Lena, and Phoenix Catholic Campus Ministry at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay that Ward discovered his passion and talent for crafting custom wood products.
He built a conference table featuring artwork of the Last Supper for the St. Anne site in Coleman, his home parish. That project helped lead to him building an altar for Phoenix Catholic.
“Fr. Ben Johnson (St. Anne administrator) wanted a conference table. I had been doing the art for the Last Supper,” said Ward. “I had cut a couple of them already, one hanging on our wall and one for a church in Alabama. I thought it would be a great thing to put on a conference table.”
When Fr. Kevin Ripley, priest celebrant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and director of the Kairos Year, celebrated Mass in Coleman, he met Ward and was made aware of his work, including the conference table.
Ward, a UW-Green Bay alum, offered his woodworking talents if there ever was a need.
That’s when Fr. Ripley told Franciscan Sr. Laura Zelten, Catholic Campus Ministry director, about the custom woodworker he had met.
“I said, ‘An altar, we need an altar,’” said Sr. Laura. “We connected with him. I wanted light wood (in color). It had to be light enough (in weight) to move. It had to be on wheels.”
Ward made a trip to the Mauthe Center on campus to meet with Sr. Laura and Fr. Ripley.
“(Sr. Laura) showed me the chairs they used (for Mass) and it looked like rubber tree wood to me. That’s really white with almost no grain at all,” said Ward. “So, I decided that we would go with ash. I went out to Marshfield and bought some ash from an arborist out there who just started milling. I picked through it to find the best of it. It matches well.”
Because the altar is stored when not in use for Mass, Ward needed to build a wheel system. He built a replica of the ramp used at the Mauthe Center so he could test it in the shop. To hide the wheels during Mass, he cut a metal plate into the wood and cut rare earth magnets to attach bottom baseboards.
“It’s very easy to move back and forth, which is nice for me,” said sophomore Katie McArthur, who serves as sacristan for Phoenix Catholic. “It doesn’t look like it would be able to move. It looks like a permanent fixture up there, but it’s so easy to move.”
A black logo stands out on the front of the light wood.
“The image on the front is part of our logo,” said Sr. Laura. “The logo for the university is a flame. Over the Phoenix we take the flame and put it with the Holy Spirit.”
Ward and his wife, Betty, also a UW-Green Bay alum, have six children and 13 grandchildren. In May of this year, he retired from his job in the biotech industry. In 2017, he retired from the Army after 37 years — part active duty and part National Guard.
“We don’t charge for the church and we don’t charge the military,” said Ward, who builds flag boxes and cribbage boards for veterans. “None of this is done alone. Richard (Piechocki, his brother-in-law) doesn’t take enough credit for all the work he does. Betty helps and my son is involved.”
Ward, who converted to Catholicism, said that there is a faith element to his work for the church. He noted that Ed Patenaude, who built the original altars for the Lena church, served as a role model for his builds.
“It almost feels like the mission of St. Joseph carrying on in the carpentry,” he said. “My son likes to work to music. He wears headphones. I like to work in silence. That’s my time to sit and think. There’s a lot of prayer that goes into it.”
Ward said he studied the Apostles when building the 10’ by 3’ solid oak conference table for St. Anne Parish.
“I learned who they all were, where they traveled, where they all missioned. The only apostle that wasn’t martyred, St. John, little things like that,” he said. “I would get something stuck in my head and stay up reading.”
When Ward delivered the altar to campus, Patrick Konyn, a senior with Phoenix Catholic, assisted him.
“I was here finishing up my faith formation with Sr. Laura. I got the first look and was able to help bring it in,” said Konyn. “Sr. Laura wanted to pay him. He said, ‘This is my donation to the church. This is my way of giving back.’ It’s a beautiful piece of work.”
“It’s such a generous thing for him to do, to donate his time, to donate his talents, to donate such a sacred item which really helps us with Mass on campus, providing a place for students to come to Mass and to feel like they’re at a church and feel the presence of Christ,” said junior Mark Wanek, who serves as a student outreach coordinator and treasurer for Phoenix Catholic.
Junior Rachel Faessler, who also serves as a student outreach coordinator, said she doesn’t miss the folding table covered with an altar cloth that was previously used for the 7 p.m. Sunday Mass at the Mauthe Center.
“It’s such a nice addition. Now we feel like we have a dedicated space instead of something so temporary,” she said.
Fr. Ripley blessed the altar at the first Mass of the fall semester. Lee and Betty Ward attended the liturgy.
Bishop David Ricken will get his first look at the altar on Sunday, Dec. 8, when he celebrates the 7 p.m. Mass for Phoenix Catholic.
Ward said he’s open to more woodworking projects for the church.
“I think I get more out of it than I give,” he said.
For information about Phoenix Catholic Campus Ministry visit UWGB Phoenix Catholic | Welcome.