Jack Ward, a dedicated conservationist and the first director of the Department of Conservation Services, has died at the age of 72.

Mr Ward was remembered as a cheerful man and an astute scientist with a passion for the ocean and a talent for making science more accessible.

Anne Glasspool, a friend and colleague at Bermuda Environmental Consulting, where Mr Ward was president, said: “Jack’s understated approach earned him wide respect as he was always trusted to represent the issues without bias.

“He had an ability to take a complicated scientific concept and distil it down into component parts that made the concept comprehensible to a far wider audience.”

Dr Glasspool said Mr Ward developed a love of the water growing up in Flatts Village and nurtured his passion for the sea throughout his life.

“He recalled how as a youngster when he first heard applause in assembly at school he looked out of the window thinking there must be a school of jacks jumping nearby because the noise was so similar,” she said.

“When asked what age he learnt to scuba dive, he didn’t recall, noting that someone had left a fully rigged scuba tank on the shore and he just grabbed it, put it on his back and swam across the bay.

“As much as he loved being in the water, Jack was never more content than ‘messing about on boats’, building them, sailing them and just making sure they were shipshape.”

Mr Ward went on to study marine biology, first earning a bachelor of science with honours from the University of Western Ontario and later, a master of science degree from the University of Glasgow.

Dr Glasspool said that when he graduated from Western in 1979, Mr Ward’s class took a pledge to stay true to the environmental values instilled in them.

She added: “Jack was proud of the fact that throughout his career, he honoured that pledge.”

Mr Ward returned to Bermuda and worked as a fisheries biologist. He used his statistical understanding to undertake the first detailed analysis of Bermuda’s fisheries.

Dr Glasspool said: “Always the first to acknowledge that it was the fishermen themselves who raised the alarm of the state of the fish stocks, it was nevertheless only when Jack produced the results of his analyses that the Government recognised that it had to act, implementing the fish pot ban in 1990.”

Mr Ward later became the curator for the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo and became the first director of the Department of Conservation Services in 2000.

He also served as the chairman of the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute, sat on both the Marine Resources Board and the Board of Agriculture, and provided counsel to the Walsingham Trust, which manages the Walsingham Nature Reserve.

Mr Ward later launched Bermuda Environmental Consulting Ltd, where he was able to utilise his local and environmental knowledge to advise clients.

Dr Glasspool said that he continued to serve as a “strong advocate for due process”.

“He engaged in community consultations in many large-scale projects with an honesty and transparency that further earned the respect of the wider community,” she added.

“He never shied away from encouraging people to challenge the environmental assessments because he knew how it strengthened the overall process and outcome.”

She described Mr Ward as cheerful by nature and easy to get along with.

“Jack was widely acknowledged for his ability to listen and to act as a wise and non-judgemental sounding board,” Dr Glasspool said.

“Wonderfully generous in sharing his knowledge, over the decades, Jack served as a mentor to countless young Bermudians, as well as many overseas students.

“I have never met anyone more genuinely grateful for everything he had in his life.

“He took so much real pleasure from the simple things and it is in this same spirit I feel intensely privileged to have had him as mentor, a colleague and a wonderful friend.”

Mr Ward is survived by his wife, Shirley, children Zara and Dylan, and two grandchildren.