Statement from the Ward Family

We want to express to all our family and friends our overwhelming gratitude for your expressions of love and affection for Doug and for our family. This celebration of his amazing life and his intellectual and creative genius resonates with all of us because of Doug’s consummate ability to keep on giving of his artistic and intellectual knowledge and concern for the fullness of human expression, especially for people of color. We profoundly thank the many NEC alumni who have worked so long and hard to create this magical celebration of Doug and the many who speak so kindly of his effect on their careers and their lives. 

Doug’s love for the original Negro Ensemble Company and all the great people who passed through its doors, wherever it resided, held a vibrant and deep place in his heart until his last breath. He passed away exactly where he wanted to, in his own home from natural causes. We mourn him acutely and will do everything in our power to uphold his last wishes for his final work, The Haitian Chronicles, to be known and performed in as many venues as possible, as it was his labor of love for four decades of writing, editing, rewriting, and speaking the lines aloud until he could speak no more.  

You are all a part of his legacy, and once again, we thank you for your love and support for Doug during his lifetime.  Our hope is that we all carry a lesson, a quote, a memory of Doug into our own lives and that we continue to bring a passion for excellence, as Doug would have wanted, to the black experience and artistic expression.  We look forward to watching Doug’s spirit live on in new productions of his work and in the emergence of new young talent that for Doug was so impactful to the NEC’s excellence.  

Doug, Elizabeth, and I, along with our grandchildren, Naya, Kobe, and Niko, will miss him dearly…

Diana Powell Ward