William Ford

1938 - 2015

William Ford obituary, 1938-2015, Chicago, IL

William Ford Obituary

William Joseph Ford, 77, a fourth generation Chicagoan who never passed a stranger in need, died July 4, 2015 at Resurrection Rehab and Nursing center in Park Ridge, Illinois. His broad range of interests - from economist Ludwig von Mises to comics such as "Pogo" and "Willy 'N Ethel" - provided endless bemusement and amusement to friends and family alike. The father of five sons and four daughters, Bill delighted in family outings to museums, zoos, circuses and community events. Born in Appleton, Wisconsin, in 1938, Bill was a lifelong Roman Catholic and a longtime resident of the Austin and Cragin neighborhoods. Politics was in Bill's blood. His grandfather William Joseph Ford was active in Democratic politics and made book out of the Cook County Clerk's Office in the early twentieth century. His mother, Helen Cranley Ford, was an early subscriber to the National Review. A lifelong Republican and anti-Communist, Bill surprised political friends and enemies alike with his opposition to the military draft and his ardent support of the war in Vietnam. Among his oldest friends he counted two federal judges, a north side community activist and a principal researcher for the Center for UFO studies. A graduate of Sullivan High School, Bill was a perpetual student at Loyola University Chicago, delving especially into history, politics and theology. He almost never willingly parted with a book, except when he purchased multiple copies of favorite volumes to give to friends and family. "Bill was an early apostle of the modern conservative movement, rubbing elbows and matching wits beginning in the 1950s with the likes of F. A. Hayek, Milton Friedman, Ludwig von Mises, Bill Buckley, and Vic Milione," said his longtime friend, Joseph A. Morris, in a note to Bill's fellow conservatives. "He was a ground-floor member of the Intercollegiate Society of Individualists (today the Intercollegiate Studies Institute), and was ever conscious of the delightful oxymoron built into the Society's name." During his extended school years when he lived in Rogers Park, Bill worked many short-term jobs, including at the U.S. Post Office in Evanston, a season as a ticket agent for the CTA, and at the Granada Theatre. In 1968, Bill followed his uncle Edward "Bud" Cranley into a career in the non-teaching services at the Chicago Public Schools. He worked as a window washer for several years before becoming a licensed building engineer. As an engineer he supervised personnel and was a liaison between school principals and the many in-school maintenance workers and outside contractors needed to keep schools in good repair. He retired in 1998. Bill was preceded in death by his parents John and Helen Cranley Ford and sister Helen Elizabeth "Liz" Ford. His family especially remembers his stillborn son, Jude Ford. He is survived by his children Liam (Ann Weiler), Gregory (Aimee Ford), Michael (Rachael Wolfe), Margaret Mary "Meg," Mary Catherine (Mohamed Larbi), Jane (Aaron Lamb), Dolores, and Joseph, by his estranged wife, Penelope "Penny" Ziemer Ford of Denver, Colorado and eight grandchildren. Other survivors include his brother, Frank X. Ford, of Santa Monica, CA, his sister, Mary Ford Murray, of Buffalo Grove, along with many nieces and nephews, and friends Leroy Blommaert and Frank J. Reid. The family thanks his nieces Mary Therese Wurzbacher and Elizabeth Murray Cabrera for their many kindnesses to Bill, along with the staffs at Resurrection Rehab and Northwestern Memorial Hospital and all those who cared for him in his last illness. Bill's wake will be held at John E. Maloney Funeral Directors, 1359 W. Devon Ave., on Friday, July 10, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., with the praying of the rosary at 7 p.m. The funeral is scheduled for 9:50 a.m., Saturday July 11, 2015 at St. Ignatius Church, 6559 N. Glenwood Ave., but will begin at 10 a.m. Burial will be at Calvary Cemetery. For more information, call 773-764-1617. Those wishing to send a memorial in lieu of flowers other than Masses at St. Ignatius or St. Genevieve Church in Chicago may donate to the Midtown Educational Foundation or the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance.

Published by Chicago Tribune from Jul. 7 to Jul. 8, 2015.
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Memories and Condolences
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6 Entries

Sad to hear that such intelligent man has passed on. Wish I could be there except I've been laid low with a summer cold.

Michael Larque

July 10, 2015

I can still remember the first time I met Billand he is the only person where I can recall our first meeting. It was the summer after high school and before college and I went to respond to ad for a summer job as an usher at the NorShore Threatre on Howard Street in Chicago (long since demolished). He was the person who came out from the theatre to see me. He was already an usher. What I remember most about him was his soft, calming voice (lilting-like). It was a quality that he never lost. He was already at Loyola and I was going there in the fall, so we already had something in common. We became friends from then on, and it was he who introduced me to political advocacy, though I was more the fellow-traveler and he was the leader and definitely more intense about it than I. Intensity was also a quality that remained with him for most of his life, though in his last year he mellowed a bit.

I also remember sneaking into the abandoned Edgewater Beach Hotel with him just before demolition began. I would never have done that on my own. We went all over the building, including the sub-sub basement and one of the two towers. I stopped at the base, but he climbed up the iron rungs to the very top to get a look. His souvenir was the round copper ball that was at the top of the flag pole. (I don't think he climbed the flag pole to get it; I think it had fallen to the floor of the tower.) My souvenir was a gauge from one of the steam boilers in the basement.

He was the only person I know who acquired a house in the city for a mere $5,000. Even back then that was a bargain. And it was a nice big house too. He told me this year that it didn't even cost that. The person with whom he made the arrangement never bothered to collect the payment.

Though as far as know, he took no vow of poverty, material things appeared not to matter to him at all and he did not acquire them. The one exception was books but then they were acquired not for themselves, but for what he could learn from them. He was foremost a man of the mind.

I will miss him. RIP

LeRoy Blommaert

July 10, 2015

Rest in Peace Bill You were one of a kind. Your unique lifestyle was refreshing and a great example of being oneself. God Bless Your Brother Frank s friend Karen Colleran

Karen Colleran

July 10, 2015

Our thoughts and prayers are with you in your
time of grief. May your memories bring you
comfort.

The staff of Rainbow Hospice and Palliative Care

July 9, 2015

Our deepest sympathy to the Ford Family.
Brian and Sue Kozin

July 8, 2015

My deepest sympathy and condolences to the family during this time of grief. John 5: 28.

July 7, 2015

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Memorial Events
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Jul

10

Wake

4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

CLOSED-Maloney Funeral Directors - Chicago

1359 West Devon Avenue, Chicago, IL 60660

Jul

10

Rosary

7:00 p.m.

CLOSED-Maloney Funeral Directors - Chicago

1359 West Devon Avenue, Chicago, IL 60660

Jul

11

Funeral

10:00 a.m.

St. Ignatius Church,

6559 N. Glenwood Ave, IL 60660

Funeral services provided by:

CLOSED-Maloney Funeral Directors - Chicago

1359 West Devon Avenue, Chicago, IL 60660

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