Terrell Ford

Ford
Terrell Ann Ford was born in Charleston, SC, on September 7, 1937 to Robert S. Ford Sr. and Rose M. Ford. The family lived in Charleston for 1 year, she then moved to Washington D.C. for one year before moving to Pascagoula, MS.
She was preceded in death by, her father, Robert S. Ford Sr., grandparents, Annie N. Murphy, Captain J.G. Murphy, Honorable E.J. Ford and Eva F. Ford.
Terrell is survived by her daughter Linda P. Miller and Son-in-Law Glenn Miller of Ocean Springs, MS; grandchildren, Taylor G. Miller (Currently enrolled at Ole Miss) and Christine M. Miller (who will be starting USM in the Fall); her mother, Rena M. Ford and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.
Terrell attended Beach Elementary School, Pascagoula Junior High School, and graduated from Pascagoula High School in 1957. She played the piano, the accordion, the oboe, the saxophone, and was the majorette at Pascagoula High School. She was an active member in a number of clubs in high school including Beta Club, The Future Business Leaders of America, the Drama Club and Hi-Jinks social club. In 1957 she was voted "Best Figure" at PHS and was Pascagoula's "Miss Hospitality" in 1958. She graduated from Mississippi State College for Women in 1960 with a BS in business. On September 3rd, 1960, Terrell and Roy Wesley Pike were married at St. John's Episcopal Church with a reception at her parents' home on Pascagoula Beach.
The couple moved to Starkville, MS where Roy finished his final semester of Forestry School at Mississippi State University. Terrell worked at Benche Corporation in Columbus, MS., as secretary to the Vice President of sales and as a financial analyst. In January 1961, the couple moved to Wiggins, MS., where Terrell was a legal secretary for attorney J. Boyce Holleman, and Roy was a forester with the Mississippi State Forestry Commission. Terrell also read newspapers to baseball legend Dizzy Dean, and assisted Mr. Dean with his large volume of fan mail. In 1962 Terrell and Roy moved to Poplarville, MS., where she graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi with a Master's Degree in Business Education, in 1963. In 1965 Terrell and Roy moved to Oxford, MS., where she earned her Ph. D. in Economics and minor in Management from the University of Mississippi in 1969. Terrell was also at the forefront of the movement for Equality for Women. Two years after James Meredith racially integrated Ole Miss, she gender integrated the Department of Economics as the first female assistant Professor and the Graduate School of Business as the first female Ph. D. candidate. No shots were fired, but the faculty was completely shocked by her presence in their all-male enclave. She taught at nine institutions of higher learning and retired from the University of South Alabama after 25 years, 15 years as Chairman of the Management Department. She also taught at the University of Mississippi, the University of Southern Mississippi, the University of West Florida, Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, Troy University in Europe, the London School of Economics, the University of London, and Pearl River College. She belonged to the American Economic Association, the Academy of Management, and a number of other professional organizations. In 1987-88 she was vice president of First Securities Co. in Palm Beach, FL., selling tax-exempt municipal bonds. She was a Management Consultant for many years for a number of corporations and government entities, including International Paper Company, Virginia Chemicals, Monsanto, the U.S. Corps of Engineers, and the U.S. Coast Guard. She was an arbitrator listed with the American Arbitration Association and a consulting economist serving as an expert witness in court cases for forty different attorneys and legal firms. She loved every minute of it.She traveled for pleasure or worked as a university professor or video travelogue model in some 37 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, Canada, South America and Central America. She was a model in New York with Images Model Management and had an apartment in Manhattan on 34th Street near Macy's and the Empire State Building. She was in New York for 9/11. Despite this event, her apartment and her New York lifestyle were her greatest luxuries. She was Lauren Bacall's body double on the movie poster of "Diamonds", her film with Kirk Douglas, Dan Akroyd, and Jenny McCarthy. Two summers ago she modeled a swimsuit for the well-proportioned figure on the Today Show for Stacy London. She was a member of St. John's Episcopal Church, the Mayflower Society, Art Patrons, Symphony Committee, the Epilepsy Foundation Board and Radio Reading Service for the Blind.
Funeral Service will be Thursday, June 20, 2013, 11:00am, at St. John's Episcopal Church in Pascagoula. Friends may visit from 10:00am-11:00am prior to the service in the parish hall of the church. Interment will follow at Machpelah Cemetery in Pascagoula. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Terrell's name to St. John's Episcopal Church, The American Cancer Society, or the charity of your choice. You may send condolences to her family or express your thoughts at www.obryantokeefe.com