The family will receive guests from noon to 8pm on Sunday, March 24, 2019 in the Griggs Schooler Gordon Funeral Director’s Pioneer Chapel, 5400 Bell in Amarillo. A graveside service will be held on Monday, March 25, 2019 at 2pm in Memory Gardens Cemetery, 14200 Interstate 27; with Elder Scott Edwards Presiding.
James was born on September 19, 1945 in Jasper, Texas to Everett and Dorothy Ford. He was a member of the United States Navy from 1965 to 1969, serving aboard the USS America (CVA-66). Susan recalled that when she met James she was working at Levi Strauss and was on a Wednesday night bowling league. James would come down every Wednesday night and watch her bowl. On this particular Wednesday night James did not come down to the bowling alley. Susan wondered what the heck was going on. She continued bowling for a couple of hours and still no James. Soon after a few lanes over at the bowling alley she heard a lot of laughing and cutting up and it caught her attention. She looked over and saw James in the middle of the crowd laughing and having a big ole’ time. One thing she did notice though was that he was drinking a beer. He asked Susan to come outside as he wanted to talk to her. Susan thought, “ well this is it he’s breaking up with me.” So Susan along with her diet coke climbed into his Camaro and James told her to look him straight in the eye. Again bracing for the worst, James said “Susan, will you marry me”? In pure jubilation and joy Susan said yes and flung her arms around James spilling her coke everywhere and happily said yes but on one condition….She told James to call her at 7am the next morning. James though that was odd, but he agreed. Doing as he was told he called Susan promptly at 7am. Susan thanked him for calling and said “I have a question? James asked what is it. Susan asked him if he still wanted to marry her. James said of course and asked why she said that. Susan replied with a chuckle, “cause I wanted to be sure you weren’t drunk and changed your mind”. James laughed and said, “ I only had one beer” So now the wedding date is set and is 2 weeks out. Susan plans to be married in the church she grew up in. Suddenly out of now where the couple gets bad news. James who was working at Bell Helicopter shares the bad news that he has been laid off. He tells Susan “the best thing we can do is postpone the wedding. He said there’s no way they can marry with him having no job and expense mounting as a newlywed couple. Susan was rather shocked and so she said to James” ok let’s look at it this way. What if we had gotten married two weeks ago, what would you do….take me back to my parents and drop me off?” James got her point and the wedding went off as planned but at her parents’ home rather than the church. The couple’s whirlwind honeymoon consisted of an overnight jaunt to Lubbock and being back home in time for work on Monday morning. He retired from the Texas Department of Transportation after more than thirty years of service as a bridge inspector.
James was preceded in death by parents Everett and Dorothy, and Sister Marie Annette Bridges.
Those left to cherish his memory are his bride of more than forty years, Susan Ford(Ezzell), Brothers Gary Dean, and Tommy Glen and wife Tresha of Park City, KS; nieces Janice Colson and husband Billy of Childress, TX, and Crystal Bridges and daughter Katie McFaul of Porter, Texas, and nephews Jimmy Lynn Bridges of Childress, Texas and Ethan Ford.
