Obituary of Mary Ford

Mary Elizabeth (Sullivan) Ford passed away at her home in Weymouth on Tuesday morning, January 18, 2011. The wife of the late Thomas H. Ford, she was 90 years old. Mary was born in Cambridge. She was the daughter of the late Timothy and Catherine Sullivan. She grew up in the Harvard Square section of Cambridge and was a member of St. Paul’s Parish and a graduate of St. Paul’s Grammar School. She went on to graduate from Cambridge High and Latin in 1937. Mary went to Bryant and Stratton to become a Court Stenographer and Reporter. She worked in New York City and Florida before returning to Boston in her late twenties. She met and married a fellow court reporter, Thomas Ford in August of 1953. The wedding was held at St. Paul’s Church in Cambridge. They had four daughters during the years 1955 and 1960. Mary and her husband worked together at Ford Reporting Associates as official Reporters for MBTA arbitrations, Boston City Council and Boston School Committee for over twenty years. After the death of her husband she took over the business and worked until she retired from the City council in June of 1998 at the age of 78. Mary loved Cambridge and Boston. She was a devoted fan of the Red Sox and the Boston Celtic and subscription tickets to the Boston Symphony and the Boston Lyric Opera and made sure her four young daughters saw every play that would come to Boston. If someone complained that there was no parking in Boston in the summer, she would reply “that’s what you get for living in such a wonderful city”. Mary was a devoted Girl Scout leader both as a young woman in Cambridge and later as a mother in Billerica. Mary was the beloved wife of the late Thomas H. Ford. She was the loving mother of Ellen M. Ford & her husband Dennis Marfurt of Weymouth, Katherine M. Ford of Weymouth, Elizabeth A. Wilkins & her husband Christopher of Burlington, VT, and Mary I. Wilkins & her husband Mark of London England, formerly of Centreville, VA. She was the sister of Anne Powers of Milton, James Sullivan of CT, George Sullivan of Acton, and the late Catherine Collins and Eleanor Sullivan. Grandmother of Emily Ford Wilkins and Olivia Ford Wilkins. Also survived by 14 nieces and nephews. Funeral from the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn St., BURLINGTON (Exit 34 off Rt. 128, Woburn side) on Sat. Jan 22 at 8:45 a.m. Followed by a Mass of Christian Burial in St. Paul’s Catholic Church, Bow and Arrow St., Cambridge at 10 a.m. Visiting hours Thursday 4-8 p.m. Interment in Woodlawn Cemetery, Everett. Memorial’s in Mary’s name may be made to Partners in Health, PO Box 845578, Boston, MA 02284-5578 www.donate.pih.org to help the people of Haiti.