MUNCIE--Kenneth (Kenney) A. Ford, who was born to Helen and Harold Ford on an unseasonably warm day on January 23, 1933, passed away on March 11, 2016 surrounded by his loving family after a brief illness.
As a young man, Kenney dabbled in music and loved basketbll. Like many young men in Muncie at the time, he was an avid follower of the Muncie Central Bearcats; a love that lasted a lifetime. Following graduation from Muncie Central in 195, he became a clerk at the JC Penney Shoe Department in Muncie. In 1953 he was called into Military Service for the United States Army, where he served as Johnson Air Force Base, Japan. After his tour in Japan, he was re-assigned to Chicago, IL, where he worked in the basement of the Field Science Museum. A defining moment occurred in March of 1954 while listening to the Indiana State Boys Basketball Championship game in which highly favored Muncie Central was beaten by upstart Milan. From that day forward until his death, Kenney refused to talk about that basketball game or even watch the movie, "Hoosiers", which was Hollywood's depiction of this most famous of High School basketball games. Kenney was honorably discharged from the Army in Feb. 1955.
Upon returning to Muncie, he regained his position in the shoe department as a remarkable salesperson at JC Penney. Unbeknownst to Kenney, his future bride--"Dreamy Eyes" Rachel Moody, worked in the Notions Department. Kenney and Rachel were married March 16, 1958 at the Selma United Methodist Church. While they continued building their family, Kenney worked at Delco Remy and Chandler's Tool Shop. However, several years later he found a job as District Manager with the Muncie Newspapers, Inc., a career that would take him into retirement. The position with the Newspaper was truly a family affair because back in those days, if the District Manager could not find a newspaper carrier, then he was responsible for delivering the papers himself. Having a daughter and three sons around the house led the Ford family to deliver over 1.5 million newspapers within the city limits of Muncie. The successes of this job allowed Kenney and Rachel to travel to many destinations including Jamaica and North Carolina. The Jamaica trip started a Ford Family tradition that exists today--the creation of the famous Christmas Eve Appleton's Rum Punch, which has been served at the Ford house every Christmas Eve for over 40 years.
Upon retirement, Kenney and Rachel chose to spend time with family and travel extensively throughout the United States, as well as to Europe and Israel.
Kenney will be greatly missed by his wife of 57 years, Rachel (Moody), Muncie; his daughter, Claudia (husband-Steve) Erwin, Portland, IN; sons, Kent (wife-Marianne), Fairfax, VA, Kevin (wife-Beth), Fairfax, VA, and Kirk, Muncie; sisters-in-law, Edith Ford and Rebecca Karcher; 10 grandchildren; three great-grandchildren and one due in spring 2016; one great-great-grandchild; foreign exchange student, Anders Nilsson from Sweden, who came as a stranger but left as a true member of the family; and numerous nieces and nephews, too many to count.
Kenney is preceded in death by parents, Harold and Helen, sister, Joanne, and brother, Bob.
Kenney will also be missed by his colleagues, friends, and especially his good time buddies at the Workman's.
A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. on Monday at High Street United Methodist Church, 219 S. High St. Family and friends may call at the church from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Monday. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Muncie ARF, 1209 W. Riggin Rd., Muncie, IN 47303 or The Choir Fund of the High Street United Methodist Church. The Meeks Mortuary and Crematory, Washington Street Chapel, is in charge of arrangements.
As a young man, Kenney dabbled in music and loved basketbll. Like many young men in Muncie at the time, he was an avid follower of the Muncie Central Bearcats; a love that lasted a lifetime. Following graduation from Muncie Central in 195, he became a clerk at the JC Penney Shoe Department in Muncie. In 1953 he was called into Military Service for the United States Army, where he served as Johnson Air Force Base, Japan. After his tour in Japan, he was re-assigned to Chicago, IL, where he worked in the basement of the Field Science Museum. A defining moment occurred in March of 1954 while listening to the Indiana State Boys Basketball Championship game in which highly favored Muncie Central was beaten by upstart Milan. From that day forward until his death, Kenney refused to talk about that basketball game or even watch the movie, "Hoosiers", which was Hollywood's depiction of this most famous of High School basketball games. Kenney was honorably discharged from the Army in Feb. 1955.
Upon returning to Muncie, he regained his position in the shoe department as a remarkable salesperson at JC Penney. Unbeknownst to Kenney, his future bride--"Dreamy Eyes" Rachel Moody, worked in the Notions Department. Kenney and Rachel were married March 16, 1958 at the Selma United Methodist Church. While they continued building their family, Kenney worked at Delco Remy and Chandler's Tool Shop. However, several years later he found a job as District Manager with the Muncie Newspapers, Inc., a career that would take him into retirement. The position with the Newspaper was truly a family affair because back in those days, if the District Manager could not find a newspaper carrier, then he was responsible for delivering the papers himself. Having a daughter and three sons around the house led the Ford family to deliver over 1.5 million newspapers within the city limits of Muncie. The successes of this job allowed Kenney and Rachel to travel to many destinations including Jamaica and North Carolina. The Jamaica trip started a Ford Family tradition that exists today--the creation of the famous Christmas Eve Appleton's Rum Punch, which has been served at the Ford house every Christmas Eve for over 40 years.
Upon retirement, Kenney and Rachel chose to spend time with family and travel extensively throughout the United States, as well as to Europe and Israel.
Kenney will be greatly missed by his wife of 57 years, Rachel (Moody), Muncie; his daughter, Claudia (husband-Steve) Erwin, Portland, IN; sons, Kent (wife-Marianne), Fairfax, VA, Kevin (wife-Beth), Fairfax, VA, and Kirk, Muncie; sisters-in-law, Edith Ford and Rebecca Karcher; 10 grandchildren; three great-grandchildren and one due in spring 2016; one great-great-grandchild; foreign exchange student, Anders Nilsson from Sweden, who came as a stranger but left as a true member of the family; and numerous nieces and nephews, too many to count.
Kenney is preceded in death by parents, Harold and Helen, sister, Joanne, and brother, Bob.
Kenney will also be missed by his colleagues, friends, and especially his good time buddies at the Workman's.
A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. on Monday at High Street United Methodist Church, 219 S. High St. Family and friends may call at the church from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Monday. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Muncie ARF, 1209 W. Riggin Rd., Muncie, IN 47303 or The Choir Fund of the High Street United Methodist Church. The Meeks Mortuary and Crematory, Washington Street Chapel, is in charge of arrangements.
MUNCIE--Kenneth (Kenney) A. Ford, who was born to Helen and Harold Ford on an unseasonably warm day on January 23, 1933, passed away on March 11, 2016 surrounded by his loving family after a brief illness.
As a young man, Kenney dabbled in music and loved basketbll. Like many young men in Muncie at the time, he was an avid follower of the Muncie Central Bearcats; a love that lasted a lifetime. Following graduation from Muncie Central in 195, he became a clerk at the JC Penney Shoe Department in Muncie. In 1953 he was called into Military Service for the United States Army, where he served as Johnson Air Force Base, Japan. After his tour in Japan, he was re-assigned to Chicago, IL, where he worked in the basement of the Field Science Museum. A defining moment occurred in March of 1954 while listening to the Indiana State Boys Basketball Championship game in which highly favored Muncie Central was beaten by upstart Milan. From that day forward until his death, Kenney refused to talk about that basketball game or even watch the movie, "Hoosiers", which was Hollywood's depiction of this most famous of High School basketball games. Kenney was honorably discharged from the Army in Feb. 1955.
Upon returning to Muncie, he regained his position in the shoe department as a remarkable salesperson at JC Penney. Unbeknownst to Kenney, his future bride--"Dreamy Eyes" Rachel Moody, worked in the Notions Department. Kenney and Rachel were married March 16, 1958 at the Selma United Methodist Church. While they continued building their family, Kenney worked at Delco Remy and Chandler's Tool Shop. However, several years later he found a job as District Manager with the Muncie Newspapers, Inc., a career that would take him into retirement. The position with the Newspaper was truly a family affair because back in those days, if the District Manager could not find a newspaper carrier, then he was responsible for delivering the papers himself. Having a daughter and three sons around the house led the Ford family to deliver over 1.5 million newspapers within the city limits of Muncie. The successes of this job allowed Kenney and Rachel to travel to many destinations including Jamaica and North Carolina. The Jamaica trip started a Ford Family tradition that exists today--the creation of the famous Christmas Eve Appleton's Rum Punch, which has been served at the Ford house every Christmas Eve for over 40 years.
Upon retirement, Kenney and Rachel chose to spend time with family and travel extensively throughout the United States, as well as to Europe and Israel.
Kenney will be greatly missed by his wife of 57 years, Rachel (Moody), Muncie; his daughter, Claudia (husband-Steve) Erwin, Portland, IN; sons, Kent (wife-Marianne), Fairfax, VA, Kevin (wife-Beth), Fairfax, VA, and Kirk, Muncie; sisters-in-law, Edith Ford and Rebecca Karcher; 10 grandchildren; three great-grandchildren and one due in spring 2016; one great-great-grandchild; foreign exchange student, Anders Nilsson from Sweden, who came as a stranger but left as a true member of the family; and numerous nieces and nephews, too many to count.
Kenney is preceded in death by parents, Harold and Helen, sister, Joanne, and brother, Bob.
Kenney will also be missed by his colleagues, friends, and especially his good time buddies at the Workman's.
A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. on Monday at High Street United Methodist Church, 219 S. High St. Family and friends may call at the church from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Monday. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Muncie ARF, 1209 W. Riggin Rd., Muncie, IN 47303 or The Choir Fund of the High Street United Methodist Church. The Meeks Mortuary and Crematory, Washington Street Chapel, is in charge of arrangements.
As a young man, Kenney dabbled in music and loved basketbll. Like many young men in Muncie at the time, he was an avid follower of the Muncie Central Bearcats; a love that lasted a lifetime. Following graduation from Muncie Central in 195, he became a clerk at the JC Penney Shoe Department in Muncie. In 1953 he was called into Military Service for the United States Army, where he served as Johnson Air Force Base, Japan. After his tour in Japan, he was re-assigned to Chicago, IL, where he worked in the basement of the Field Science Museum. A defining moment occurred in March of 1954 while listening to the Indiana State Boys Basketball Championship game in which highly favored Muncie Central was beaten by upstart Milan. From that day forward until his death, Kenney refused to talk about that basketball game or even watch the movie, "Hoosiers", which was Hollywood's depiction of this most famous of High School basketball games. Kenney was honorably discharged from the Army in Feb. 1955.
Upon returning to Muncie, he regained his position in the shoe department as a remarkable salesperson at JC Penney. Unbeknownst to Kenney, his future bride--"Dreamy Eyes" Rachel Moody, worked in the Notions Department. Kenney and Rachel were married March 16, 1958 at the Selma United Methodist Church. While they continued building their family, Kenney worked at Delco Remy and Chandler's Tool Shop. However, several years later he found a job as District Manager with the Muncie Newspapers, Inc., a career that would take him into retirement. The position with the Newspaper was truly a family affair because back in those days, if the District Manager could not find a newspaper carrier, then he was responsible for delivering the papers himself. Having a daughter and three sons around the house led the Ford family to deliver over 1.5 million newspapers within the city limits of Muncie. The successes of this job allowed Kenney and Rachel to travel to many destinations including Jamaica and North Carolina. The Jamaica trip started a Ford Family tradition that exists today--the creation of the famous Christmas Eve Appleton's Rum Punch, which has been served at the Ford house every Christmas Eve for over 40 years.
Upon retirement, Kenney and Rachel chose to spend time with family and travel extensively throughout the United States, as well as to Europe and Israel.
Kenney will be greatly missed by his wife of 57 years, Rachel (Moody), Muncie; his daughter, Claudia (husband-Steve) Erwin, Portland, IN; sons, Kent (wife-Marianne), Fairfax, VA, Kevin (wife-Beth), Fairfax, VA, and Kirk, Muncie; sisters-in-law, Edith Ford and Rebecca Karcher; 10 grandchildren; three great-grandchildren and one due in spring 2016; one great-great-grandchild; foreign exchange student, Anders Nilsson from Sweden, who came as a stranger but left as a true member of the family; and numerous nieces and nephews, too many to count.
Kenney is preceded in death by parents, Harold and Helen, sister, Joanne, and brother, Bob.
Kenney will also be missed by his colleagues, friends, and especially his good time buddies at the Workman's.
A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. on Monday at High Street United Methodist Church, 219 S. High St. Family and friends may call at the church from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Monday. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Muncie ARF, 1209 W. Riggin Rd., Muncie, IN 47303 or The Choir Fund of the High Street United Methodist Church. The Meeks Mortuary and Crematory, Washington Street Chapel, is in charge of arrangements.
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
