Feb. 14, 2014, 4 a.m.

ASTRONOMY and a penchant for political debate will be remembered tomorrow by family and friends as they reflect on the life of Portland region farmer Don Ward.

ASTRONOMY and a penchant for political debate will be remembered tomorrow by family and friends as they reflect on the life of Portland region farmer Don Ward.

The regular contributor to The Standards letters page died suddenly last week aged 73. His funeral is scheduled to be held tomorrow morning at Warrnambools Anglican Church.

Mr Ward was a Victorian Astronomical Society member and contributed to the associations journal for a number of years, as well as other publications.

He became known for his outspoken views on climate change and wrote dozens of letters to the editor on the subject.

Mr Wards sister Betty Stafford said her brothers interest in astronomy was stimulated by the beginnings of the American-Soviet space race in the late 1950s.

Don was fascinated by astronomy and invested a lot in his equipment. He even built his own telescope as a teenager, Mrs Stafford said.

He also had firm views on global warming and climate change.

Don wrote so many letters to the editor, I think we lost count of how many he contributed.

Read more from the original source:

Farmer, astronomer, climate change sceptic mourned