Elbert "Smokey" Estelle Ford

He served the Navy from 1967-1970, which included a tour in Vietnam, and was a civil servant at Naval Underwater Warfare Center- Kitsap until his retirement in 1993, after which he decided to enjoy his retirement and live as much as he could.

He was active in his community. He was an active member of Holy Trinity Catholic Church for many years. He was a founding member of the National Alliance of Mental Illness, and volunteered at Kitsap Mental Health.

He loved the outdoors, spending much time with his family hiking and camping. He was also an avid mountaineer, climbing most of the mountains in Western Washington and teaching others to do the same. He was a member of the Brownsville Yacht Club and helped run sailboat races. He also spent a lot of his time building model airplanes with the Kitsap Aircraft Radio Control Society. He loved sailing, and Smokey and Sonia spent many years on their sailboat, “Charisma”, traveling down the coast to Mexico and later sailing across the Pacific all the way to Australia, exploring neighboring islands for four more years before losing their boat to a storm in Indonesia. After losing their boat, they returned to land, spending the next 12 years traveling around the country in their RV, spending many winters in Tucson, Arizona before finally settling down in Gold Bar in 2020 to be near their daughter Cathy.

He was a loving and faithful husband to his beloved wife Sonia for 58 years, and loving father to their children, Cathy and Kevin. He leaves behind his soulmate Sonia Lillard Ford, his daughter Catherine Renee Ford and son-in-law David Maryniak, his brother-in-law Phillip Lillard and his nephews Ty and Joel Lusk. He was preceded in death by his parents, Ida and Elbert “Dusty” Ford, his sister Sharyn Bateman, and his son, Kevin Ford.

Smokey loved his family, a good movie, and a good adventure. He lived his life to the fullest and made sure he told his wife, "I've lived all my dreams." He will be dearly missed.

A Celebration of Life will be held March 22 at 1:00 PM at Miller Woodlawn Funeral Home, 5505 Kitsap Way, Bremerton, WA 98312.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Smokey’s name to the Alzheimer’s Foundation or to a charity of your choice.