Wynne Tornado Damage Hits Close to Home for Stone Ward President Millie Ward

Millie Ward, volunteer and board member at Arkansas Sheriffs’
Youth Ranches

The March 31 tornado that tore through Wynne, killing four residents, hit much closer to home than just Millie Ward’s old hometown.

Ward, president and co-founder of the Little Rock advertising and marketing agency Stone Ward, moved to the Cross County seat at age 6 and was a baton twirler at Wynne High School. Ward’s mother, Alyce Caldwell, still lives in Wynne, and was inside her house when the tornado shattered it.

“She was in her walk-in closet in the interior of her house and came out without a scratch,” Ward recently told Whispers. The home was “totally destroyed.”

The EF-3 supercell was on the ground for 70 miles, obliterating entire neighborhoods in the town of about 9,000. The high school, which had been evacuated before the storm hit, was heavily damaged.

Ward said that after a good number of personal belongings were rescued, her mother’s house was bulldozed to the ground. “My mom is 87 and very independent. We have found a temporary apartment in Wynne for six months and are exploring building her house back.”

Even though Caldwell will be moving toward 90 years of age by the time the rebuilding could be completed, Ward said she “still wants to be in that house if possible, and be independent for as long as possible.”

In the meantime, Ward and her husband and partner, Larry Stone, are thanking the Almighty for Caldwell’s deliverance. “I told her that even though she might be ready to go to heaven and be with my dad she so loves, the Lord has other plans.”