Charles Matthew Ford

Charles Matthew Ford…passed away on November 23, 2011 at the age of 98. Charlie was born in Waterbury, Connecticut and spent his early childhood living at Wallingford’s Gaylord Sanitarium, where his father was the chef. When his father was offered a position as a Cook/Guard overseeing the kitchen at Sing-Sing Prison, the family settled in the Loh Park neighborhood of Tarrytown, NY. After graduating from Washington Irving High School, Charlie worked as a bicycle messenger while attending NYU.

He served in Casablanca and Dakar during World War II. Upon returning home after the war, Charlie owned a stationery store, then a soda fountain, before becoming an accountant. During this time, he married Dorothy Volz Ford and moved into her family home on North Washington Street in Sleepy Hollow. Charlie worked in the business office of Homelite for several years but found he was happiest in blue collar positions that enabled him to “move around more” and interact with people. That led him to his second career as a hardware man working at Reynolds Hardware Store on Main St. in Tarrytown, alongside his childhood friend, Charles Conklin. He eventually moved his family to a home in Pleasantville where he lived until his retirement.

Upon retirement, Charlie moved to Florida where he was involved in the local Am Vet organization and found pleasure in home and garden projects. Charlie was always eager to spend time with his children and grandchildren. Together the family enjoyed camping at Canyon Lake in the Texas Hill Country or sightseeing in San Antonio, hiking or off-roading in Georgia and taking day trips through Tennessee, the Hudson Valley, Connecticut and to the South Shore of Massachusetts. Charlie always demonstrated a great capacity for laughter, fun and exploration. He was always willing to try something new. He loved to reminisce and tell stories, tinker with various crafts projects, spend time with beloved family pets and eat anything chocolate. And he was a great music lover and history buff.

Charlie’s humor, mellow sense of adventure and many kindnesses will be missed by his daughter Linda Ford and her husband William Ficker, of Danbury, CT. And son, Billy Ford and his fiancée Gleice De Lima Silva of Duluth, Georgia. Also grandchildren Thatcher Ford of Brooklyn, NY; Emma and Cade Ford of Duluth, Georgia, and step-grandchildren who brought a different kind of happiness into his later years, Christine and Buzzy Ficker Smith and Cathie Ficker Graugard. He is also survived by a niece and several nephews in whom he took great delight. He is survived by a sister, Ruth Ford Chew, of Massachusetts.

Charlie Ford was predeceased by his wife, Dorothy Volz Ford, known as The Story Lady for her work in the children’s department of Warner Library. Also going before him are two siblings Mildred Ford and Thomas Ford.

Service will be graveside at Sleep Hollow Cemetery in December.

If you wish to pay tribute in some material way, Charlie would undoubtedly be pleased by your contributions to The Sleep Hollow Cemetery Historic Fund, Sleepy Hollow, NY; The Historical Society Serving Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown, NY or The SPCA of Westchester, in Briarcliff Manor, NY