Max Irvin Ford

Max Irvin Ford, son of the late James and Opal Ford, went to be with our Lord August 28, 2016. He was born November 18, 1930, in Arkansas, Kansas. He and his family lived in Whitewater, Oklahoma until moving to Washington and eventually putting down deep roots in the Snohomish area. He was one of nine close brothers and sisters.

Max is survived by the love of his life, Una. They met when his family moved next door to hers on Mill Street in Snohomish. As he would repeatedly tell us, “She was the prettiest girl he’d ever seen”. Married at the young age of 17 and 18, they grew up together, celebrating 67 years in May. Together, they created a home right out of “Leave It To Beaver” episodes. They raised five very fortunate children. Max never finished school beyond the 8th grade because he became “smarter than all his teachers”. He could engineer a complicated structure or figure square footage without a pencil and paper. Max was unstoppable when he set his mind to it.

He was a Boy Scout Cubmaster, a 4-H leader and PTA president. He began his own construction company in his twenties and then went on to work for a crane company. At fifty, he started Max Ford Crane. He loved owning his own crane business and never wanted to retire. Family meant everything to Max and it was always an adventure when you were with him. He was an early trailblazer taking his children, their friends and entire 4-H groups for many trips on horseback in the Cascade Mountains. Max and Una enjoyed many years traveling on their motorcycle to Mexico as well as Central America and the Arctic Circle. Everyone that knew Max has a story to tell of his witty sense of humor; from keeping a telemarketer on the phone until they were begging to hang up; to evicting a tenant by simply moving in with his sleeping bag. He loved singing old country tunes and would often make up his own lyrics to make us laugh. He was generous with his time and always ready to help anyone in need be it family, friends or someone on the side of the street. He made everyone feel special. He would tell his grandkids he was the luckiest Grandpa but we all know we were the lucky ones.

He was predeceased by his sister, Nancy, four brothers: Zach, Jim, Bill, Bob and grandson, Justin. Max i s survived by his brother, Jerald, sisters , Wanda and Velda; children, Lonney(Stacey), Lorna(Bryan), Maxine(Jack), Kerry(Barb) and Tamera (Marty) along with twenty grandchildren and twenty-one great grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The Gideons International or Alzheimer’s Association