Obituary of William Edward Ford, Sr.

Funeral services for William Edward “Bill” Ford, Sr., age 67, of Roanoke, will be held on Monday, February 1, 2016, at 2:00 PM from Roanoke First United Methodist Church with Rev. Ralph Barrow officiating. Burial will follow at Cedarwood Cemetery with Quattlebaum Funeral Home in charge of arrangements. The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 6:00-8:00 PM on Sunday, January 31, 2016. Mr. Ford will lie in state at the church one hour prior to services beginning on Monday. Mr. Ford passed away on Saturday, January 30, 2016, at Hospice LaGrange. Survivors include his wife, Pamela Darlene Sheppard Ford of Roanoke; his mother, Jean Foerster Ford of Roanoke; one son, William Edward Ford, Jr. (wife, Kelley) of Cleveland, TN; four grandchildren, Harrison Ford, Kate Ford, Shelby Goins, and India Ford; two sisters, Ellen Oakley of Alta Loma, CA and Cathy Stone (husband, Ed) of Greenville, SC; one sister-in-law, Gail Wortham of Auburn; and one brother-in-law, Clark Sheppard of Rock Mills. Ronald Cameron, Jimmy Johnson, Brian Sellers, Brent Wilson, James Bailey, and Lorenzo Foster will serve as pallbearers. The Roanoke Fire Department and Roanoke Police Department will serve as honorary pallbearers. A lifelong resident of Randolph County, Mr. Ford was born on January 18, 1949, the son of Robert Sidney and Jean Foerster Ford. He was a member of Roanoke First United Methodist Church, an Auburn University alumnus, a member of the Army Reserves, and had served on the Roanoke City Council. Mr. Ford worked for Carroll County Fire Department for 10 years and for Roanoke Fire Department for 40 years. He presided as Roanoke Fire Chief from 1995 until 2009 when he transitioned to Assistant Fire Chief and accepted the position of investigator for Roanoke Police Department. He was preceded in death by his father; his paternal grandparents, William Byrd and Urbis Longshore Ford; and his maternal grandparents, Gustave Edward and Ruby Gray Foerster.