Francis Mary Smith Marriage

Francis Mary Smith had never been very healthy.  She weighed 118 pounds.  The Doctor advised her not to marry that she never would be able to have a family, but she insisted on getting married.  Her father was much concerned and tried to persuade her not to marry, but her mind was made up.   Her Father went to Eli and told him of her condition but he only said he would take a chance on it.  So regardless of what they had been told, they were married 23 April 1885; in the temple in Logan, Utah.  They were sealed that day for time and eternity.  What a happy day that was.

Pictures of my Grandparents John Henry Ford & Ada Nilsson Ford

Henry Spencer Spellman Ford, John Henry Ford & Lillie Belle Church Ford 

Marilyn, Shirley, Gordon, John & Ada Ford

Dewayne, Walter, John, Alice, Everett, Russell Ford

Ada E Nilsson Ford

Ada Ford at Disneyland

John Ford at Disneyland where he worked.

Gordon & John Ford, Father & Son

Four Generations: Lillie Belle & John Ford, Marilyn & Brian Aikens

Ada & John at their Long Beach house

Ada & John in front of Gordon's house in Sunset.

John & Ada

John, Shirley, Gordon, Ada, Marilyn

Ada & John in front of Paradise Home

Gordon, Ada, John Shirley, Marilyn

Ada & John

Marilyn, Gordon, Ada, Shirley

Gordon with his mother Ada Nilsson Ford

History Notes for John Henry Ford by his Daughter Shirley Marshall Apr 1998

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Ford, John Henry and Ada E (Nilsson) from book, Raymond Remembered page 182

John and Ada (Nilsson) Ford History

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FORD, JOHN AND ADA (NILSSON)

John (Jack) worked on the Milk River farm for sometime.  He married Ada Nilsson, a teacher. They moved to Raymond where John worked as a mechanic in his own shop and as a maintenance man in the Raymond Sugar Factory.  They had three children: Shirley, Gordon and Marilyn.

Shirley married (Brightwiser) and had one son, Jack.  She re-married Russell Marshall, lives in League City, Texas and has twins Van and Val, Chris, Ray, Candi and Bob.

Gordon is married and has two children, a girl and a boy, and lives in Ogden, Utah.

Marilyn married Ron Aikens and has four boys and one girl.  She remarried Bill Day and lives in Oak Harbor, Washington.

* I found this information on page 816-817 of a book I don't know the name of. I have a copy of the page but the URL is no longer available.  This is the old address:http://ahdp.lib.ucalgary.ca/loc_hist/lil/lilc0831.jpg

John Henry Ford Birth Record

http://genealogytrails.com/sdak/brule/BirthsE-F-G.html

This web site shows John Henry Ford and his brother Walter Ford were both born in Brule County, South Dakota. Here is the information they have.

John Henry Ford

4 Jan .1901

Male

Brule

Henry S Ford

Lillie Belle Church

Walter Ford

22 Apr .1903

Male

Brule

Henry Ford

Lillie Church

Gordon Nilsson Ford History by his Sister Shirley Marshall

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Notes for Gordon Nilsson Ford

Written by Shirley Joan Ford Marshall

21 May 1997

Photo’s were added later by his daughter Loni Ford Winn while retyping this history.

Written in June 1995 from memories of his sister, S.F. Marshall.  Gordon Nilsson Ford, only son of John Henry Ford and Ada E. Nilsson, was born in the bedroom of his parents’ home on October 11, 1932 at Raymond, Alberta, Canada.  He probably doesn’t remember his entry into the world, but his four year old sister (at the time) still remembers standing in her crib, listening to her mother as the last and most severe labor contractions pushed him down the birth canal.  Mrs. Deardon, midwife and mother’s helper was there and possibly a doctor also.

His maternal grandparents, Christopher Nilsson and Amanda Matilda Johnson lived on the huge lot right next door, and his sister had been born at their home.  Since his mother was the youngest of the seven living Nilsson children and all but two lived in Raymond, he had plenty of relatives nearby.

Henry Spencer Spellman Ford, John Ford 11 months, Lillie Belle Church Ford abt Dec. 1901

His paternal grandparents, Henry Spencer Spellman Ford and Lillie Belle Church lived in the border town of Coutts, Alberta, Canada about 80 miles distant at that time.  In fact the Ford farm was just on the Canadian side of the border.  Had it been across the street, it would have been in Montana in the U.S.A. Unfortunately his Grandfather Ford had a stroke and died when Gordon was only a year old.  He did get to enjoy his Grandmother though because the family went to the farm to visit quite often before they left Canada, and then at least once every summer after they moved to Ogden.  Jack [nickname of his father John Henry Ford] often boasted that he could drive from Ogden, leaving in the morning and arrive at Coutts before dark. In those days there weren’t any freeways to cut miles off the trip, and there were several mountainous roads traveling through Montana before they arrived at the fairly flat area around Coutts.  The Sweetgrass Hills could be seen in the distance, and on the U.S. side of the border, there was an interesting area rock formations called Jerusalem.

Everyone in the family enjoyed those trips to Grandma Ford’s farm. There were Jack’s two younger brothers, Everett and DeWayne, and in the beginning, they would sometimes go to Shelby, Montana to visit Uncle Walt, who worked at a dime store there, and of course, Aunt Alice, Jack’s only sister lived in the town of Coutts.  Her husband worked at the Border Crossing, but those of the family who often went out on the border road knew of a special way that saved time by not having to stop there each time they went back and forth.

Picture of Ford Farm at Coutts

Being at his Grandma Ford’s was a little different than Grandma Nilsson’s.  Raymond had outdoor and indoor plumbing facilities. But out on the farm at Coutts, it was just a little different.  Most of the facilities were outside at the little house with the half moon on the door.  It was only during very cold nights that the children were allowed to use the chamber pot.  When it was cold, they all often scurried behind the heater in the living room when it was time to put on their pajamas. No central heating in those days, so either Gordon or the two girls would be first and then try to modestly change and stay warm at the same time.

Gordon seemed to be a healthy baby, but by the winter after his first birthday he seemed to be ill quite a bit of the time.  He would get so sick that Ada was often afraid that each grasping breath would be his last.  It was discovered that he was suffering from asthma, a family hereditary disease which seemed to get worse each winter when the weather was so severe.

By the time he was about five, Ada could not face another winter with those same fears. She sold her dearly loved piano that summer, and a friend drove back to the factory in Detroit, Michigan and brought back a new 1937 Nash. It was suppose to have been a LaSalle, but something happened, and he brought back a Nash, which served the family well for many years.

Ada & Jack with their 1937 Nash

Ada had loved her piano, but her son’s health was more important to her, and when the family doctor suggested a different climate might be better for Gordon, she and Jack were quite ready to move to the United States where the weather was milder.  The family left Canada in August via Cardston, over Logan Pass and Glacier National Park. They spent a couple of days in Spokane, and then decided to go to Wenatchee.  They only lived there a few weeks, when Jack got a job in Cashmere, a nice little town about twelve miles away.  So the family moved to a house that had about three rooms which they could call home.  There is a very cute picture that Ada and Jack took with their camera of Marilyn and Gordon riding on a tricycle at the bottom of the steps up to the big front porch of the house.

Marilyn & Gordon

1937 was another depression era and the garage was forced to lay off some of their help.  Since Jack was one of the newer employees, he got the axe first.  The Ford’s moved back to Wenatchee where they rented a cute little house, which the family really liked.  Again they were by themselves and not living in a house with other families.  They became very good friends with a family named the Beans, who were members of the church and lived just down the street.  Unfortunately it was really hard to get work, so early that next summer, Jack took the train to Ogden, Utah to look for work there.  He was lucky and found a job, coming back on the train, and then packing all their belongings into a trailer, he drove everyone to their new home in Ogden.

Madison Elementary

Gordon attended school for the first seven years at Madison Elementary, a large square, two story school across Lester Park. He next attended Central Jr, High School, which was just around the block from where the family had moved when Shirley started there.  It was a large home that had been made into four apartments. The Ford family felt as though they really had a home because they lived in the front of the house at 2556 Madison Avenue. Next to their back door was a large area of lawn between the house and the First Ward Chapel where they attended church. It was a three room house with high ceilings, a large bathroom and a built on large enclosed porch which served as a bedroom, most of the time for Jack and Ada.

Marilyn, Shirley & Gordon. John and Ada in back.

 

There were apartments on each side and one apartment in the back.  The lot was quite deep and had a cement driveway going from the street to the back of the lot. Gordon’s asthma did not stop, and Ada was probably over protective keeping him home from school on many occasions when he seemed too ill to participate. So as a result, and also having inherited his father’s interest and ability in repairing things, school was not as important to him as cars.

 

He was a smart young man with a couple of real good boy friends, one named Don Malan and one named Jared Anderson, whose father was the Bishop.  These three young mechanics at about age 14 repaired an old car, and had a wonderful time driving it up and back down the long driveway beside the house. Ada also became friends with Vivian, and they stayed close for quite awhile.  Vivian’s son Pete, was also an asthmatic, and so they worried together about their sons, and what could be done to help them, while the boys just played together and enjoyed each other.

When the Korean conflict arose, Gordon enlisted in the navy and sailed to many different exotic countries while on duty. He was in the far east for awhile and brought back some lovely dishes from Japan for friends and family. He was honorably discharged and came back to Ogden in late 1953.

After Christmas that year his parents had driven Shirley and her three month old twin baby boys to Los Angeles where her husband, Russell Marshall had been attending Northrup Aeronautical School.  They traveled in one car while Russ and Jackie went ahead in his Hudson. He had arranged to meet them all at Aunt Carrie Pardee’s (a sister of his Grandma Ford’s) in Compton, a suburb of L.A.

Russ had rented a small apartment in a housing development in Harbor Hills near Torrance. One day when Shirley went to the door, Gordon and Marilyn’s husband Ron Aikens were on the doorstep. They announced they had come looking for work and a place to stay while doing so.  Fortunately in just a week or two, Shirley and Russ got the opening they had been hoping for and were ale to move into a brand new housing development in Culver City, (the home of MGM Studios). This apartment had three bedrooms upstairs and was really nice. So there was room for Gordon, Ron and eventually Marilyn brought her 5 month old baby, Brian. For a time it was really communal living with Shirley fixing lunches for Ron and Gordon and Russ who worked night shifts. After awhile Marilyn and Ron were also able to get an apartment a couple of street away and Gordon moved in with them.

During this time he met some nice young ladies, one who was a roommate of Debra Paget, a young starlet of that day (I think she was in “The Ten Commandments.) Gordon seemed to have a special kind of charm, that really attracted the girls.

Russ graduated from Northrup and got a job with Douglas in Long Beach. Gordon had moved back to Utah for a short time, and while he was there be became engaged to a lovely young lady. The family was excitedly planning for their wedding when it was called off. Gordon returned to Long Beach for awhile where Jack and Ada had moved to be nearer their children and get Jack away from the Box Elder trees in Ogden that gave him Hay Fever every spring.  The climate there was a lot better for Jack, but Shirley got asthma almost as soon as they moved there. Living so near the ocean was nice, because it helped to keep the L.A. smog away, but the fog and dampness really made her ill.

Gordon didn’t seem to be as bothered with asthma as he had been and everyone hoped that he had outgrown it as sometimes happens with you get it as a child.  At any rate, he decided to go back to Ogden, and while he was there he got a good job at Hill Air Force Base.  During this time, he met LaVee Harris, daughter of Bishop and Sister LeRoy Harris of Beaver Utah.  LaVee was visiting a sister and when she saw Gordon, must have decided she wanted him, because they were married on March 21, 1958 at Ogden, Utah.  LaVee was born on August 30th,1939 in Beaver.

Gordon & LaVee cutting their wedding cake.  March 21, 1958

They moved into their first home at North Ogden and Loni LaVee Ford was born October 22, 1958 at Ogden.  Their first son, Larry Ford was born June 21, 1960 also at Ogden.  Kevin was also born at Ogden on October 19, 1963. By this time Gordon and LaVee had bought a little larger and nicer home at Sunset, next to Clearfield and very close to where Gordon was working.  The highway to Salt Lake City could be seen clearly from their back yard.

Larry, LaVee, Loni, Gordon & Kevin in the Sunset Home about 1971

Gordon was elected President of the Jr. Chamber of Commerce [it was actually the Jaycee’s] and made good use of his friendly nature and hard-working abilities, helping out the new community where they had moved.

Several years later they bought a lot on the edge of a small ravine in the hills of Kaysville. Gordon helped with the building and soon they had a marvelous new home.

Kaysville, Utah House

Later after their divorce, LaVee moved back to the Sunset home and Gordon kept the Kaysville house.  He was transferred to Edwards Air Force Base outside of Lancaster, California where he bought a home for the approximately three years he was there. He was often sent on TDY when he worked at Hill Field, as he was a trouble shooter, and made excellent use of his inherent mechanical abilities, while having the opportunity to travel around the country and get prime pay at the same time.

Donna & Gordon’s Wedding. (Not sure where this picture was taken, but not at their house)

While Gordon was in Lancaster, he met Donna Fowler and after he was sent back to Hill Field, he and Donna were married on September 22, 1979 at Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  They lived at the Kaysville house but meshing their two families, Kevin and Donna’s son, Chad who both lived with them, caused some difficulties and they separated.

Ada E Nilsson Ford & John Henry Ford outside their Paradise California Home

Gordon was still sent on TDY, and when working at the base outside Sacramento would visit John and Ada who had by then moved 90 miles north to Paradise, California, a beautiful town with pine trees all over on top of a low mountainous area.  He also saw Donna frequently and they eventually remarried December 1, 1988.

Loni & LaVee outside Gordon’s house in Overton, Nevada after his funeral.

They lived in Lancaster again in an apartment, but in the meantime, Gordon having found the plans that his folks had used to build their Paradise home, modified the blueprints, and after they found some property they liked in Overton, Nevada, had a house built.  Again Gordon assisted in the building and refinishing of this beautiful home.  It was close enough to Donna’s family in California so they could visit there without too much trouble, and also not to far from Gordon’s children.  Larry and Kevin had both lived in Roy, Utah for several years, and Loni and Vance had moved from Pocatello to Orem, Utah where Vance completed his schooling at BYU.

Larry and his wife Layna and their two sons recently moved to Washington state where Layna still works for the IRS as she did in Ogden.  Apparently they like it out there, but Dustin and Mitchel enjoy visiting with Donna and Grandpa Gordon during vacations.

Gordon retired from Hill Field before he and Donna were remarried, so now they are free to say at home, visit her folks, or travel as they did this past year.  They took a cruise to Mexico with Donna’s folks and Gordon and Donna took a trip to Canada where they were able to visit quite a few of the Ford or Nilsson relatives who still live there.

Gordon, ?, ? Kevin, ?, ?, ?, Sitting DeWayne & Doreen Ford

Gordon had three children, and now has five grandchildren who bring love and joy into all our lives as well as sadness and sorrow through the years.  But when all is said and done, family is what life is really all about, and Gordon is surrounded by a lot of love, from his own family and from Donna’s as well.

Last family picture taken a couple of months before he died. Kevin, Gordon, Larry & Loni

Gordon Nilsson Ford Honorable Discharge US Navy

Notice his middle name is spelled wrong. The correct spelling is Nilsson.

Gordon Nilsson Ford's Funeral Program

 

Gordon Nilsson Ford Life Sketch

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Life Sketch

Gordon “Gus” Nilsson Ford

By Loni LaVee Ford Winn, his Daughter

Gordon Ford, only son of John and Ada Ford was born in the bedroom of his parent’s home on October 11, 1932 in Raymond Alberta Canada.  His sister Shirley was four years older and sister Marilyn was 2 years younger.  They lived right next door to his mother’s parents and had many cousins to play with.

This is the only picture I have of dad as a baby.

Dad seemed to be a healthy baby but when he was a year old he began getting sick.  His mother was afraid that each grasping breath would be his last. Finally when dad was about five years old his mother could not face another winter worrying about her only son.  So she sold her dearly loved piano and drove with a friend to a factory in Detroit Michigan and bought a new 1937 Nash.  The family doctor had suggested a different climate might help her son breathe easier.  His mother loved her piano but her son’s health was more important to her.

So Dad’s family loaded up the car and headed to the United States.  They spent a couple of days in Spokane but then decided to go to Wenatchee.  They lived there a short time when Dad’s father was offered a job in Cashmere, Washington about 15 miles away.  They bought a new three-bedroom house which soon became home.  Dad had many fond memories in this house.  One of his favorite childhood memories was when all three kids received tricycles for Christmas.  A cute picture of Dad and his sister Marilyn riding one of those tricycles is displayed in the other room, you can see how happy there were.

Marilyn & Gordon

They only lived in Cashmere a few months when times got hard and Dad’s father was laid off at the garage where he worked, since he was the newest employee.  The family then moved back to Wenatchee where they rented a house.  It was really hard to get work in Washington, so early that next summer John took the train to Ogden, Utah to look for work there.  Fortunately he found work and went back to get his family and moved them to Ogden Utah.

John & Ada Ford with their children Marilyn, Shirley & Gordon.

Dad was still sick during the winters and his mother, who was a little over protective kept him home from school a lot.  As a result he spent much of his time repairing things, just like his father.  When he was 14, Dad and a couple of friends repaired an old car and had a wonderful time driving up and back down the long driveway.  From then on school was not as important to dad as fixing up things, especially cars. (During my childhood years there was always a sports car that dad was fixing up.  As kids we would anxiously wait for the car to be finished so we could go for a ride, but it was short lived because someone always wanted the car so he would sell it and then look for another fixer upper.)

During Dad’s high school years his favorite sandwich was a cheese sandwich.  He liked it grilled but for lunch he would eat a plain cheese sandwich.  Because of this his friends nicknamed him Gus, after Gus Gus the mouse in Cinderella.

When the Korean Conflict arose Dad enlisted in the Navy. During his service he received several medals and stars.  The United Nations Service Medal and the National Defense Service Medal.  He participated in the Battle of ToKo-Ri (Which by the way a movie was made of) and received The Korean Service Medal with two stars.  While in the Navy he also sailed to many exotic countries.  While in Japan he purchased some lovely eggshell china that I have on display in my china hutch at home.

After he received an honorable discharge from the Navy he lived in California for a while but then returned to Ogden Utah to find work.  He not only found work but found a beautiful young girl from Beaver Utah attending Weber State college who soon became his wife.  Gordon Ford and LaVee Harris were married on March 21, 1958. They had three children.  I am the oldest and only daughter and then Larry is two years younger than me and Kevin is five years younger.

Dad worked at Hill Air Force Base for 31 years and he held several positions, one of which was an Electronic Technician.  At the time he retired he was an Equipment Specialist on F-16 Fighter Jets.  When I was young I asked him what he did for a living and all he would say is it is top secret.  I remember wondering if he was a spy or secret agent.

Dad was a very friendly man and made friends easily.  He joined several different organizations like the Elks, Eagles and American Legion.  He was a member of the Sunset Chapter of the Jaycees for several yeas and during that time also served as President. This organization would look for opportunities to serve and better the community.  One of the projects that Dad organized while President was to paint house numbers on the curbs so that police and fire fighters could find homes easily in case of an emergency.

Dad liked to have fun. For several years we went to Bear Lake a couple of times each summer.  Dad spent a lot of time driving his boat and pulling other skiers.  But when it was his time to ski we would all stop what we were doing and just watch him.  He loved to water ski and was extremely good.  I can still picture him.  Dad preferred to ski with just one ski, he would start from the beach, with a cigarette in his mouth, one hand holding the line and the other hand holding a beer, wearing shorts, a tan colored hat and sunglasses.  He would ski around the lake and when it was time to go back he would ski right up to the beach, drop his ski and walk up the bank.  Very seldom did he even get wet.

As a family we belonged to a group called the Jackalopes.  This was a group of families that would plan camping and boating trips together. On the back of each families camper was a picture of a Jackalope. During the summer months we would go camping or boating almost every weekend.  There would usually be 6-10 campers caravanning together to a camping spot.  The kids would spend most of their time hiking and riding motorcycles, while the parents played cards, visited and cooked lots of delicious food.  We even had a family yell for when they wanted us to come back to camp. “Hip-da-miniga, haha-ga-saw-ya, boom-da-la-ha you who.”  Some of our favorite trips were when we went to Mesa Verde, Denver and Mexico.

A few weeks ago I asked my dad what he wanted to be remembered for most.  His reply was ”not what I accomplished, but for what we did as a family.”  We certainly had some fun times.

Dad also liked doing carpentry work.  In 1973 he started building our home in Kaysille, Utah.  It took him about one year to finish it.  He also built his current home in Overton, Nevada. He patterned it after the home his parents had built in Paradise California.

Dad retired and moved to Overton with his wife Donna.  They were married about 13 years.  Dad loved Overton and spent his time tinkering around the house, doing small engine repairs, fishing, boating and going to “the office” every day.  I was surprised when I learned “the office” meant the Roster or the Sportsman.  Dad loved going into town and visiting with all his friends.  He loved Overton so much that we couldn’t convince him to move back to Utah to be closer to his family.

That finally happened 10 weeks ago when we moved Dad to Orem Utah to an Assisted Living Home.  He hoped it would be for only a few months but after getting sick in March things just snowballed.  He had one medical problem after another.

Last Family Picture, Kevin, Gordon, Larry & Loni

I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to spend so much time with my father these last few months.  I watched him reach out and make new friends not only with the residents, but also those who worked there. I had one worker tell me she has never been so attached to a new resident so fast.  The cleaning lady would come in each morning and make him a special cup of coffee because she enjoyed being around him so much.  He had a way of making people feel comfortable around him.  He always had a story to share and his quirky comments would get everyone around him laughing.  He was always happy no matter the circumstance and truly cared about others.  I never heard Dad complain about anything even the last few weeks when he was in an extreme amount of pain.  I would have to plead with him to let me know how much pain he was really in so that we could give him the correct medication and relieve some of the pain.  There was one resident who mentioned to dad that she was always in pain too.  So dad started hiding his pain medication for her.  That didn’t go over well with the nurses. Thank goodness he was never able to give her any.

Last Thursday I received a call from Dad’s hospice nurse, Jaclyn telling me she didn’t think he would make it through the night.  I called my brothers on my way to be with Dad.  Kevin and his wife Don immediately left there home in Clearfield and came to be with him too.  Larry and Layna started making plans so they could leave Washington the next morning.  They had already said their goodbyes to Dad so I reassured Dad that it was okay to leave us.  That we would be fine.  Dad hung on all that night and even seemed to be getting better.  Kevin, Don and Jaclyn his nurse stayed until about 2:00 am and then went home.  I stayed and spent the night with Dad. The next day his fever broke and he rested peacefully.  Saturday morning the family took turns visiting Dad. That night about 7:00 when all three of us kids and our spouses were sitting around watching a video of Dad he peacefully slipped away.  I feel he was just waiting around until all of his kids were there with him.  I know he loved us so very much.

Dad had time to reflect on his life and there were many things he regretted and wished he could change, and hoped we could forgive him, but he also talked about all the good times he had.  I hope you are continuing to have good times.

I love you Dad!