Gentle rain fell as about 400 people in Mr Ward’s hometown paid their respects to him before a private cremation in Dunedin.
Mr Ward was paua diving in the Catlins last weekend with friend and workmate Mitchell McPhee (23), also of Balclutha, when both men died in unexplained circumstances.
Family members and friends paid tribute to Mr Ward with both tears and laughter during the hour-long service. Celebrant Ann McDowall, speaking on behalf of his family, said he was a "fun-loving" man and devoted to wife Deana and their three children.
"The essence of Malcolm was that he was always laughing, and a great hugger, always ready with a great big bear hug. He would drop everything to help somebody, and was always thinking of others."
Mr Miller described how during his first time skiing, Mr Ward had somehow received a "four-inch gash" to his shin.
"You could see the bone. But that didn’t stop him hopping on the ski lift, only to lose one of his skis after a few feet. But being Malcolm, he just jumped off the ski lift in mid-flight, grabbed the ski and was back into it before you could even blink."
Mr Miller said Mr Ward’s friends christened him "Avalanche" after the trip: "Nobody was safe on the slopes."
Despite "always being in a bit of strife ... with nine lives" as a younger man, Mr Ward had settled into family life as a devoted husband and father, Mrs McDowall said.
The former chainsaw operator, now freezing worker, was a "perfectionist" woodworker.
In tribute to his passion, a chainsaw adorned Mr Ward’s coffin and mourners scattered wood shavings from his father Russell’s workshop on his coffin. Mr McPhee’s funeral will take place at the South Otago Town & Country Club in Balclutha at 2pm today.
• The Otago Daily Times was granted permission to attend the funeral of Malcolm Ward.
