Obituary of James C. Ford
James C. Ford, age 96, of Collegeville, PA passed away on Thursday, November 23, 2023.
He was born in Philadelphia, PA on January 9, 1927, the son of the late Nehemiah and Elizabeth (McGoldrick) Ford.
Mr. Ford worked as a Railroad Agent for the Pennsylvania Rail Road and Amtrak. He lived in Downingtown before moving to Collegeville where he has resided for 22 years. He honorably served in the U.S. Army during the Allied Occupation of Germany.
He was the husband of the late Ann M. (McGoldrick) Ford.
He is survived by eight children, Roy (Elisabeth) Ford, Eileen (William) McNamara, James (the late Tammy) Ford, Neil Ford, Ann Marie (Tom) Brecht, Mary (Andrew) Hadfield, Kathy (the late Paul) Leinhauser, and Lisa Williams, 13 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren.
He loved life and family but he most loved the time spent with his beloved Ann. On the yearly family vacations to the Outer Banks he would sit in his beach chair under his bucket hat regaling the grandchildren with his many stories. He spent hours floating in the ocean just beyond the breakers. Any hotel where he and Ann stayed needed a pool so he could get a swim in before continuing their journey.
As a young man he loved sports especially basketball. He played in several leagues throughout Philadelphia. He coached his children in basketball and football and in later life he was often found sitting in the stands cheering on his granddaughters and grandsons in basketball, track, cross-country and soccer. He was well known for assisting the refs in their calls.
On Saturdays in the fall, he watched the Fightin' Irish of Notre Dame. As his grandchildren graduated various colleges, his football Saturdays grew to include watching Penn State, Florida State and Pitt.
Every October he and Ann traveled to Perry's in Daytona Beach for a getaway week, taking along any child or grandchild they managed to snag.
He instilled in his children the importance of family. This was never more evident than at Thanksgiving when the entire family would sit down at an ever lengthening table to enjoy a laughter filled evening together.
His Funeral Service and Interment will be private.
In lieu of flowers, his family would appreciate memorial contributions made in his name to the UVA Cancer Center by clicking here.
Thanksgiving Morning
by Bill McNamara
The sun climbed through pillowy grey clouds as I was driving back from the supermarket on Thanksgiving morning. And here it is again, today, the shining sun. The sun will always rise as it did yesterday. It will rise today, tomorrow, the next day and the next, and on and on. It will rise over happiness, sadness, horror and joy. It will rise over anger and regret. It will rise over our birthing and our passing. It will rise over lonely thoughts while one drives a car, or walks the woods, or sits at a desk, or dresses for work or school, or sits quietly in a recliner. It will rise over a cup of coffee. It will rise over a sandy beach in South Nags Head. It will rise over a small lake in the mountains, it will rise over Knoebel’s. It will rise after dark sad nights. It will rise through tears and laughter. It will rise even though it has no business rising after the starless night that was before. The sunlight shines in the blue sky. It shines on the barren tress, the frosted grass, the flighting birds, the men and women scurrying into the store for last moment forgotten milk, eggs, paper plates, last moment needless things.
It shines on this darkest day. It shines through my sadness. It reminds me that everything is fleeting but yet everything is eternal. Every person is fleeting but yet every person is eternal. Pop has left us. He will tell no new stories, share no new laughs, send no new interestingly fractured texts, no new exasperated Neils, no new calls from the his chair for Lisa, no new searching glances for Bree or Jim. But he has left us stockpiles of stories, laughs and memories. Our mental cabinets are fill to bursting with images of Pop and the sound of his voice. These images and sounds are eternal and won’t be forgotten. Not by us. Pop walking with Liam in Coole Park. Pop floating in the sea or being pushed in his wheel chair by Bree. Pop smiling when he spoke of Nana. I have my memories. Put my memories with all of your memories and we have a store house that will never be exhausted. We have a little red Chevy Vega of memories full to bursting on the way to Florida. We will always have moments when he will give us a smile and a laugh or a tear. When he gives us what we need in that moment.
Thanksgiving dinner was lessened without Pop. It was lessened without Nana, and Tammy and Paul. But it was also made fuller by them. Fuller with what they freely shared with us. With what they left with us. They shared their love and life. Their goodness and their quirks. Their smiles and their tears. And every emotion in between. And they left us better than we were before. So, we celebrate Pop and all that he has given us. And he gave so much. But now he has gone to sit in the sun with Nan or perhaps he is under the rising sun floating on an ocean of dreams. And I find peace in thinking that his dreams will always be in us. And in our children and in their children on and on like the rising sun.
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Arrangements by Moore, Snear & Ruggiero Funeral Home, 224 West Main Street, Trappe, PA, (610) 489-7900.
www.msrfh.com