1 Upcoming Event
Burial
DEC
12
Friday, December 12, 2025
Starts at 2:00 pm
United States Air Force Academy Cemetery
-, -, -
Claudine T. Ward, 50, passed away peacefully, surrounded by love, after a hard fight with metastatic ovarian cancer. She fought all the way to the end to ensure her young children were filled with "more and more love every day."
To know Claudine was to experience boundless love, kindness, fearless courage, joy, and quiet strength; and to always be well fed! From the moment one met her, it felt like a yearslong friendship.
She laughed freely. Her joy was honest, and she always smiled. She reflected deeply and spoke her mind. She gave us all tough love when we needed it. Her love was unconditional. She always saw the best in people, even when they couldn't see it themselves. Through this love and her own faith, Claudine brought us closer to God.
Family, teachers, coaches, teammates, and lifelong friends in Park Ridge, Illinois—where she grew up, learned, swam, ran track, and surprised adults with her ability to win at chess—built the foundation of who she was. Grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins as far away as Java, Bali, Canada, and Brazil, showed her that love has no physical boundaries.
At the United States Air Force Academy, she continued to build her family through swim teammates and fellow cadets. Chaplain ("Sir") and Mrs. Price nurtured her faith, shared their lives and home, and made her laugh.
As a physician in the Air Force, Claudine proudly cared for servicemembers, retirees, spouses, and their children. She helped tens of thousands of people with the anguish of loss, the joy of reunion, and their own health. Even as a child, she set out with the goal to always help those in need, especially through medical missions. Traveling to Guatemala, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Indonesia, she touched the lives of so many, sometimes with the simplest of treatments.
She and Patrick were married for over 25 years. Willa and Tynan came later in life and filled her heart and soul with joy. She showered them with her love. Her family meant the world to her and was the focus of everything she did.
Claudine is survived by her husband Patrick, her daughter Willa (6), and her son Tynan (4). She was the daughter of Joyce Tjhio and the late Kang Lee Tjhio, and sister to David Tjhio and Laura Prestidge. Marriage enlarged her family, including parents-in-law, James and Kathleen, siblings-in-law, Julie, Fletcher, Molly, Matt, Jamie, Tim, Kevin, and Emily, as well as nieces and nephews, Gabriella (17), Caitlin (15), Julia (15), Matthew (12), Andrew (11), and Brennan (10). She is forever cherished and remembered by all those kindred spirits from recent times and years past embraced as family.
We will lay Claudine to rest at the United States Air Force Academy Cemetery on December 12 at 2:00 p.m. local time. All are welcome. The Combat Control Foundation has established a fund to support Willa and Tynan. To read her story or make a donation, please visit https://givebutter.com/ClaudineWard.
To know Claudine was to experience boundless love, kindness, fearless courage, joy, and quiet strength; and to always be well fed! From the moment one met her, it felt like a yearslong friendship.
She laughed freely. Her joy was honest, and she always smiled. She reflected deeply and spoke her mind. She gave us all tough love when we needed it. Her love was unconditional. She always saw the best in people, even when they couldn't see it themselves. Through this love and her own faith, Claudine brought us closer to God.
Family, teachers, coaches, teammates, and lifelong friends in Park Ridge, Illinois—where she grew up, learned, swam, ran track, and surprised adults with her ability to win at chess—built the foundation of who she was. Grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins as far away as Java, Bali, Canada, and Brazil, showed her that love has no physical boundaries.
At the United States Air Force Academy, she continued to build her family through swim teammates and fellow cadets. Chaplain ("Sir") and Mrs. Price nurtured her faith, shared their lives and home, and made her laugh.
As a physician in the Air Force, Claudine proudly cared for servicemembers, retirees, spouses, and their children. She helped tens of thousands of people with the anguish of loss, the joy of reunion, and their own health. Even as a child, she set out with the goal to always help those in need, especially through medical missions. Traveling to Guatemala, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Indonesia, she touched the lives of so many, sometimes with the simplest of treatments.
She and Patrick were married for over 25 years. Willa and Tynan came later in life and filled her heart and soul with joy. She showered them with her love. Her family meant the world to her and was the focus of everything she did.
Claudine is survived by her husband Patrick, her daughter Willa (6), and her son Tynan (4). She was the daughter of Joyce Tjhio and the late Kang Lee Tjhio, and sister to David Tjhio and Laura Prestidge. Marriage enlarged her family, including parents-in-law, James and Kathleen, siblings-in-law, Julie, Fletcher, Molly, Matt, Jamie, Tim, Kevin, and Emily, as well as nieces and nephews, Gabriella (17), Caitlin (15), Julia (15), Matthew (12), Andrew (11), and Brennan (10). She is forever cherished and remembered by all those kindred spirits from recent times and years past embraced as family.
We will lay Claudine to rest at the United States Air Force Academy Cemetery on December 12 at 2:00 p.m. local time. All are welcome. The Combat Control Foundation has established a fund to support Willa and Tynan. To read her story or make a donation, please visit https://givebutter.com/ClaudineWard.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Claudine Tjhio Ward, please visit our flower store.
Claudine Tjhio Ward's Guestbook
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