William L. Ford

Ford, Hon. William L. SARATOGA SPRINGS The Hon. William L. Ford, 91, retired N.Y. State Supreme Court Justice, died February 27, 2007 in Tucson, Ariz. Born in Saratoga Springs, he entered the pre-law program at Union College in September 1937. He managed an ESSO service station and was a 1942 graduate of Albany Law School and class president. A graduate of the U.S. Navy Officers Training School as one of the so-called "90-day wonders," he was assigned to a submarine chaser in the Atlantic and later to a minesweeper in the South Pacific. During World War II, he served as commanding officer of the ship and was awarded the Bronze Star in the Okinawa Campaign. He later joined the Saratoga law firm of Butler and Kilmer, followed by Leary, Fullerton and Sweeney with law offices in Saratoga and Schenectady, which later became Leary, Fullerton, Ford and Aussicker and then Ford, Jones and Hogan. A member and past president of the Saratoga Springs Board of Education, he was elected chairman of the Saratoga Springs Republican Committee and, in 1968, was elected chairman of the Saratoga County Republican Committee. In 1968 and in 1970, he chaired the 11-county Fourth Judicial District Republican Convention whose responsibility was the nomination of candidates for the Supreme Court. In 1971, Gov. Nelson Rockefeller appointed Ford to the NYS Law Revision Commission and, in 1973, nominated him to the New York State Court of Claims. While a judge of this court, Ford wrote a decision in Cathedral Academy of Albany vs. The State of New York that was appealed up to the United States Supreme Court, which reinstated his decision. This was, Judge Ford claimed, his most satisfying legal experience. He was elected to the Supreme Court of NY State in 1975, from which he retired in 1988. From 1984-1988, Ford was representative of the Supreme Court Justices of the 3rd Judicial Department, which consists of 28 counties in the New York State Judicial Conference. A member of the NYS Trial Lawyers Assoc., he was recipient of the Aulisi Award, given for consistent, diligent dedication to justice; a member of the board of directors of the Schenectady Sunnyview Rehabilitation Center; Saratoga Hospital Advisory Board; the Saratoga Preservation Foundation and the Open Space Project; the Saratoga County, NYS and American Bar Associations; Union College Alumni Council; Saratoga Springs and Brookside Historical Societies. He also chaired the Saratoga County Ethics Board since its inception in 1989. He chaired the committee seeking to bring the performing arts to Saratoga and was a member of the Knights of Columbus, Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion and Saratoga-Wilton B.P.O. Elks Lodge 161, McGregor Links Golf Club and St. Clement's Church. Judge Ford is the last surviving charter member of the Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick of Saratoga Springs, a past president and a member of the Board of Governors. He is predeceased by his wife, Loretta (Bradley) Ford and his brother, Edward E. Ford. He is survived by his wife, Eleanor (Staley) Ford of Tucson; two daughters, Mary F. (Teri) Scoville of Albany and Ann E. Ford of Saratoga Springs; two sons, William B. Ford of Sommerville, N.J. and John R. Ford of Pleasanton, Calif.; three stepdaughters, Dr. Eleanor Staley of Tucson, Barbara Lenta of Hilton Head, S.C. and Eileen I. Kane of Tucson; a stepson, James K. Staley of Latvia; a nephew, Edward Ford of Marietta, Ga.; 16 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. Relatives and friends may call from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday in Our Lady's Chapel at St. Clement's Church. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 9:30 a.m. Saturday in St. Clement's Church, 231 Lake Ave. Burial with military honors will follow in the family plot in St. Peter's Cemetery, West Ave. Memorial contributions may be made to Community Hospice of Saratoga, 179 Lawrence St., the William L. Ford Scholarship Fund, c/o Adirondack Trust Company, 473 Broadway, the Saratoga Care Foundation, 211 Church St., Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 or the American Heart Association Northeastern NY Area, 440 New Karner Rd., Albany, NY 12205. Arrangements are under the direction of the William J. Burke & Sons/Bussing & Cunniff Funeral Homes of 628 North Broadway (584-5373). Online remembrances may be made at: www.burkefuneralhome.com