John Huff Ford, 101, of Atlanta, Georgia, was a follower of Jesus. His “faith was made sight” in the early hours of February 27, 2026, after being sick for less than a day. This was 11 weeks after the love of his life passed away. He and Freddie Tumlin Ford were married for 73+ years.
Born on October 23, 1924, in Crescent City, Florida, John is the son of the late Dr. Edward White Ford and Effie Lee Render Ford. He was also preceded in death by his daughter, Jan Ford Wood; brothers Edward W. Ford, Jr, William R. Ford, Charles S. Ford; sisters Nancy Ford Taylor, Ambie E. Ford, and Anne Ford Posey.
He is survived by son-in-law Ron Wood (Jan), son Kent Ford (Debbie), son Eddie Ford (Lisa), daughter Lee Ford Shaw (Tim); grandchildren Leann, Micah, Hannah, David, Molly, Tristan, Christopher, Callie, Anna, and Daniel; nine great-grandchildren; sister Kitty Ford Elliott; and several nephews and nieces.
John received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida. After some time in the workforce, he returned to the university and earned his master’s degree in forestry.
John lived a life of service to others with the U.S. Army toward the end of World War II, and in the fields of forestry, the Fish and Wildlife Service, Georgia Bureau of Public Roads, residential real estate and lawn care.
John will be remembered for his love for Freddie and family, his generosity, his wit, his beautiful garden and fig trees that fed friends and neighbors for years, as well as his collection of anything anyone might ever need at any time. One friend tagged him as “Barnabas,” after the biblical character who was an encourager to everyone he met. John was one of a kind and will be deeply missed.
A memorial service is planned for Saturday, March 28, at 2 pm at King’sBridge Retirement Community, 3055 Briarcliff Road NE, Atlanta, GA, where he and Freddie lived for the last 10 years.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations in his memory to Briarlake Church, 3715 Lavista Road, Decatur, GA 30033, website: briarlakechurch.org, or International Mission Board, 3806 Monument Avenue, Richmond, VA 23230, website: imb.org/give.
