Norris Warren Ford

Norris Warren “Bud” Ford was born in Hartford, CT on August 24,1934 to the late Millicent Eliza Tate Ford and Norris Willard Ford. He was a 1952 graduate of William H. Hall High School and a 1956 graduate of Colgate University. He married the late Eleanor Ann Erickson Ford in August 1956. He began working for AT&T in July 1956, and then was drafted into the U.S. Army in February 1957. Bud served until February 1959 as a Specialist 3rd Class, working as a guided missile radar repairman and operator. Bud retired from AT&T in April 1994 as a Director of Computer Services, having most recently managed a team of 150 computer programmers. Bud took advanced computer courses at Raritan Valley Community College (formerly Somerset County College) in New Jersey. In his retirement, Bud was a Literacy Volunteer from 1995-2000, and Director of the program for one year. Bud and his wife Ellie co-founded the Domestic Violence Valley Shore Services in Westbrook in 1996, and Bud managed DVVSS finances for 12 years. Bud joined the Westbrook Congregational Church in 1994, and served as the Moderator of its Cabinet in 2006-2007. Bud also served as Moderator of the Middlesex Association of the United Church of Christ (UCC) in 2006-2008. Bud joined the Estuary Center for Senior Citizens in July 2012, and was asked to serve as its Treasurer and to serve on the Executive Board. In 2013, Bud was asked to serve as the finance committee chair of his high school class. Bud and Ellie joined the Clinton Country Club in 1995. Bud was predeceased by his brother and sister-in-law, Willard and Nancy Ford, and by Ellie’s siblings, Hans and Eleanor DelGreco Erickson, and Carl Eric (Bud) and Gunvor Lindquist, and a special nephew Mark Eric Lindquist. Bud is survived by his sister and brother-in-law, Alyce and Dr. David Hild, as well as many nieces and nephews. Ellie’s death in 2007 left Bud “devastated”, by his own account, but he also said that he “learned to live peacefully alone.” Bud wrote that his “remaining joy” was family: his two children, Rev. Dr. Laura McKnight and Eric (Maryanne) Ford, and his five grandchildren, Eric Ford Jr., Sarah McKnight, Brendan Ford, Willie Ford, and Norah McKnight. “Their continuing support was beyond measure.” Bud loved to read, garden, golf, cook, and follow the Buffalo Bills football and UConn Women’s basketball teams. Bud enjoyed the beach community home he and Ellie had purchased and updated, and “all were welcome.” In preparing his own obituary, Bud wrote, he “died joyfully on December 25, 2025… hoping to go find Ellie.”

A celebration of Bud's life will be held on May 18, 2026 at the Swan Funeral Home, 1224 Boston Post Road, Old Saybrook, CT. A time for services will updated as the date gets closer.

Memorial donations in Bud’s name may be made to Loaves and Fishes Ministries, 646 Prospect Ave., Hartford, CT 06105 (https://loavesfishesministries.org) or to the charity of your choice.