Janet Ward Black, age 66, of Summerfield, North Carolina passed away on Sunday, November 2, 2025.
A memorial service with a reception to follow in the Mullin Life Center will be held Friday, November 14, 2025 at 1:00 PM at First Presbyterian Church, 617 N Elm Street, Greensboro, North Carolina 27401.

She represented the local title of Miss Charlotte-Mecklenburg, and was a twenty-one-year-old student at Davidson College when she earned the title of Miss North Carolina 1980. She played Chopin’s “Winter Wind Etude” at Miss America, where she was a non-finalist talent winner.

Attorney Janet Ward Black was the principal owner of Ward Black Law, located in Greensboro. It is one of the largest woman-owned law firms in our state. The firm’s clients have received settlements of more than $100 million over the last 10 years. The firm represents people injured at work, in accidents, and by dangerous products and environmental hazards across North Carolina.

A graduate of Davidson College cum laude in economics and Duke Law School, Black served as the third woman president of the North Carolina Association of Trial Lawyers and the fourth woman president of the North Carolina Bar Association. She was the second lawyer in history to serve as president of both organizations.

The program she created while president of the 16,000-member Bar Association, “4 ALL,” has been used as a model in the United States and Canada for providing free legal services to the poor. The 4ALL program included a telephone call-in day during which more than a thousand NC lawyers provided free legal advice to any person who called a central toll-free number. More than 7000 people consulted with a lawyer that day. Over 100,000 North Carolinians have been assisted by a North Carolina lawyer at no charge since “4 ALL” began. ...

✨ Introducing the newest members of the Miss North Carolina Class of 2026! 👑

Join us in congratulating the incredible young women crowned at the Miss Statesville Scholarship Competition, who will represent their community on the Miss North Carolina stage this June:

👑 Miss Statesville – Amber Potts
🌟 Miss Statesville’s Teen – Isabella DiFiore

We can’t wait to see all that these talented ambassadors accomplish on their road to Miss North Carolina and Miss North Carolina’s Teen! 💙

#MissNC #Classof2026 #MissStatesville #ScholarshipStyleServiceSuccess #MissAmericaOpportunity #missncorg ...

✨ Meet the very first local ambassadors of the Class of 2026! ✨

We are proud to introduce the newly crowned representatives of the Miss Moore County and Miss Sandhills Scholarship Organization, who will take the stage at the Miss North Carolina & Miss North Carolina’s Teen Competition in June 2026:

👑 Miss Moore County – Tiffany Rush
🌟 Miss Moore County’s Teen – Vedah Dial
👑 Miss Sandhills – Alaina Malcolm
🌟 Miss Sandhills’ Teen – Taylor Sanders

Join us in congratulating these outstanding young women as they begin their journey to the state competition! 💙 #MissNCOrg #Classof2026 #missamericanc #missamericasteennc #ScholarshipStyleServiceSuccess ...