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Richard C. "Dick" Ford (September 15, 1937 - September 25, 2012)
Obituary
Mr. Richard "Dick" C. Ford, 75, of Port Angeles died on September 25, 2012, in Port Angeles with his daughter by his side.
Dick was born along with his fraternal twin brother on September 15, 1937, in Detroit, Michigan, to Aubrey and Alta (McCormack) Ford.
Dick attended public schools in Detroit and graduated from Mackenzie High School in 1955. He served in the U.S. Army. He then attended Wayne State University in Detroit and later Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Michigan, earning a Bachelor of Science in forestry management in 1960.
Dick married Sally Glass June 8, 1957.
In June of 1960, Dick's first son, Mike, was born in Detroit. The family then drove out west to Dick's new employer in Forks, the Department of Natural Resources. He was employed as a forester, surveyor and timber cruiser. He worked for the DNR until 1965.
In October of 1962, his daughter, Diane, was born in Forks.
In 1965, Dick worked for Peninsula Plywood in Port Angeles. He was in charge of timber and land management on approximately 60,000 acres of company lands. He also conducted timber appraisals of state, private and U.S. Forest Service timber sales.
He was responsible for operations in the company log yard and ran mill studies preparatory to the company starting the cedar veneer and plywood business. Dick worked for PenPly until 1970.
Dick's youngest son, Steve, was born in April of 1965 in Port Angeles.
In 1970, the family moved from Forks to Marysville, Washington, when Dick began working for the F.R. Bradley Logging Company. Dick was responsible for timber and log procurement for a company dealing with a large Japanese exporter. Operations were scattered over all of Western Washington. Dick worked for F.R. Bradley until 1975.
Dick was an avid Scoutmaster, having cultured many Eagle Scouts, and had been honored as Scoutmaster of the Year as well as many other Scouting-related achievements through the Boy Scouts' Chief Seattle Council.
In 1974, he organized a bicycle trek with his 14-year-old son Mike and a few other Scouts to the World Expo '74 in Spokane, Washington. This would be the beginning of many bicycle treks Dick took throughout Washington and Canada with Boy Scouts as well as with Mike, Diane and Steve.
Dick was also an avid hiker and with Scouts hiked and camped a large portion of the Olympic Mountain trails throughout the years.
In 1975, the family moved back to the Olympic Peninsula and settled in Port Angeles when Dick accepted the position of manager and vice president of Peninsula Timber Company, an independent log handling, log and timber procurement and log sales company dealing primarily in the Asian markets. He worked for Peninsula Timber until 1983 and developed lifelong friendships there.
Dick and Sally were divorced in 1980.
Beginning in 1983, he worked for S&S Forests Incorporated and was operations manager for a subsidiary of a large Korean trading company.
In 1983, Dick purchased a home on Lake Sutherland. He dearly loved this home and lived there year-round. While living on Lake Sutherland, Dick established Indian Creek Forestry Services. He operated this company for many years from his home.
In 2004, for health reasons, Dick moved into the city of Port Angeles but continued to operate his business.
In 2006, Dick had a major stroke that impaired him physically.
In 2008, his health deteriorated to the point of needing to move to an assisted living center in Port Angeles, where he resided until 2012.
In early 2012, he moved to St. Andrew's Assisted Living and resided there until his death.
Dick loved watching sports, hiking, cutting firewood, stamp collecting, bike riding, the companionship of his dog, a good martini and spending time with his children and grandchildren. He talked fondly of the many past log deals he made while sitting in "his booth" at the Traylor's Restaurant lounge, where he was provided a red phone to talk business. Dick was known to have very high ethical standards and a voracious work ethic.
Dick is survived by his son Mike and his wife, Cris of Salem, Oregon; his daughter, Diane Schultz of Delta Junction, Alaska; and his son Steve and his wife, Leah of Port Angeles. Also survived by his twin brother, William "Bill" Ford, and his wife, Marian, as well as his sister, Nancy Gould, and her husband, Bob, all of Michigan. His grandchildren, whom he was so proud of, are Eamon, Isabelle and Marie Ford, and Jacob and Colton Schultz. Dick is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews.
Dick's family would like to thank St. Andrew's Place Assisted Living for its compassionate and understanding care; Dr. Robert Scott, whom Dick really respected and who took lots of time with his care; and the staff of Olympic Medical Center, who made Dick's last days comfortable and stress-free.
There will be a private family service at a later date. Burial will be made alongside Dick's mother at Otter Lake Cemetery in Michigan.
Memorial contributions may be made to St. Andrew's Place Assisted Living, 520 East Park Avenue, Port Angeles, WA 98362; or to .
Arrangements are by Drennan-Ford Funeral Home. Please sign the online guestbook at www.drennanford.com.
Published in The Peninsula Daily News on October 7, 2012
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/peninsuladailynews/obituary.aspx?n=Richard-Ford&pid=160302818
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1937 - 2012 (75 years)
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