Like many in his generation, Ted was shaped by the Great Depression and World War II.
The youngest of 4 children, he was born in the winter of 1927 into hard life in the Deep South that was about to get much harder. His parents named him Sanford (after his grandfather Sanford Valentine Ford) and Theodore (after Theodore Roosevelt). Before his second birthday, the stock market crash started the nation into a steep slide into the Great Depression.
The Depression tore families apart – across the country, working class parents and children parted to make their own way – and at the time, no one knew whether it would ever end. One of the advantages of being poor before the Depression was that, while things got worse during the Depression, the changes were not as dramatic.
Ted’s father, Thomas Jefferson Ford, was a teacher with wide interests. He worked hard and steadily to provide for his family, at one point walking 13 miles to and from a teaching job. He was proud and independent – he did not believe in taking “handouts” from the government and avoided the many relief programs under the New Deal. From his father, Ted learned relentless dedication to supporting one’s family and a determination to be self-sufficient.
His father was instrumental in another way – during the Depression, he pointed out to Ted that pharmacists were always in demand and could make a living even in the worst of times. That stuck with him.
Despite the hardship of the Depression, it was, at least, a peaceful time. People adjusted to hardship and life gradually improved. Ted grew up with friends and family – he like to experiment with mechanical gadgets, and to camp out with his friends on the sand bars of the Leaf River. He developed an interest in music, taught himself to play the guitar, and became a talented musician. He began drawing and painting, an interest that he would pursue for the rest of his life. But it was clear to
anyone who followed the news (as Ted did) that turmoil in the world was getting worse. Ted remembered hearing the radio broadcast of the attack on Pearl Harbor – he was a month shy of his 15th birthday.
World War II was unlike anything the world had seen before or has seen since – it was global war. The news was filled with battles, and though accounts at the time did not dwell on casualties, the underlying story was of horrific death. Sixteen million Americans served in the military during the war, and over a million were killed or wounded. Ted followed the news of the war and knew it would come for him. He decided to go to it. He attempted to enlist in the Navy but was rejected because he was colorblind.
In January 1945, shortly after his 18th birthday, he enlist
ed in the Army.
The war in Europe was approaching an end, but the war against Japan was continuing and no end appeared in sight. It appeared likely that the Japanese would fight to the death, forcing a bloody invasion of the Japanese islands. Ted trained for combat and likely would have been in that invasion force. But as he was shipping out to the Pacific theater, the American forces dropped the first atomic bomb, and the war soon came to an end. Instead of going to war, Ted was sent to Japan to serve in the occupying forces.
For over a year, Ted served with the Military Police in Tokyo. He did not police the Japanese, but rather the American soldiers who occupied the city. This experience stayed with Ted throughout his life – he often told of his adventures in vivid detail.
By December 1946 the occupation was well in hand and the Army discharged him early. He could not get back home to Mississippi fast enough. The ocean crossing was rough and the troop trains were slow, standing for hours on sidings as priority freight and passenger trains sped by. When they were delayed again in Dallas, he and several other troops pooled their money and chartered a plane to take them home. It was his first plane ride.
Back home in Mississippi, his brother, Kirk, got him a job at a creamery. It paid well, but he found the work unsatisfying. He dated, hung out with his friends and wondered about his future. He met a girl on a blind date that he particularly liked – she was feisty and opinionated, and he was drawn to that. But her father was a piece of work. Helen had to be home by 10 or else . . . what? No one knew what Wyman Lancaster was capable of and no one wanted to find out.
Ted and Helen’s relationship deepened and in May, 1948, they eloped. Ted’s job at the creamery came to an end that fall, so the young couple decided to take advantage of th
e GI bill and left for the University of Mississippi at Oxford, where Ted would study pharmacy.
College was tough for Ted. He had been an indifferent student in high school and dropped out to join the service before graduation. He obtained his GED but his math and science skills were lacking. He studied hard to catch up, and he never wavered from his goal. In 1952, he graduated from Ole Miss with a degree in pharmacy, and he and Helen set out into the world.
The next two decades were filled with highs and lows. The lows included the loss of their first child to miscarriage and the loss of both of their fathers. The highs included three healthy children and a promising career. After a dozen years of working for other people, Ted wanted a management role and in 1964 he was named manager and part-owner of the largest drugstore in Hattiesburg.
For five years, he and Helen worked long hours to make the drugstore a success. But the city was changing. People were moving out into bedroom communities and commerce was migrating toward the newly opened interstate on the edge of town. The store steadily lost ground to competitors. Ted and Helen faced financial troubles of their own and sold their house in Petal and moved into a rental home in Hattiesburg. Things seemed to be going backward. By 1969 both Ted and Helen were ready for a change.
It came in the form of Hurricane Camille, a devastating storm that destroyed much of the Mississippi Gulf Coast in August 1969 and created a swath of destruction north through Hattiesburg. In the aftermath of the storm, the economy was in ruins. An Ohio-based drug store chain called SupeRx came to Mississippi recruiting pharmacists for its rapidly growing network. The pay was better and there seemed to be promise in moving north. Ted accepted the position, and the family moved first to Louisville and then to Dayton. Ted and Helen wanted their children to be able to attend a Seventh Day Adventist school, and Spring Valley Academy in Centerville was recommended as one of the best.
Life got much better in Dayton, but Ted still felt unfulfilled. As a retail pharmacist, he spent much of his time minding stores that were becoming five-and-dime establishments. He wanted more. His children were approaching adulthood. The family had become part of the Dayton Adventist community. Helen was working at Kettering Memorial Hospital, and Janet was in nursing school there. Ted and Mark were also working their part-time as they attended school. In 1973, he accepted a position as a staff pharmacist at Kettering Memorial Hospital. He took a cut in salary but here he could concentrate on what he enjoyed –helping people by being the best pharmacist he could be.
Ted formally retired in 1993, and then he came back part-time for another 11 years. He came back because he wanted to and because the Kettering pharmacy kept calling him back. He was liked and loved by those he worked with. He drew cartoons that celebrated individuals he worked with and that occasionally skewered the hospital administration (he got in a trouble a couple of times for this). He almost never missed work. He was accurate and professional. He finally retired the second time, at age 77, when he decided that his waning concentration may pose a risk to patients.
At that point in his life, Ted could look back on a life well-lived. He had made a difference. His children were grown and successful in their careers, and he had five grandchildren who not only loved him but liked to spend time with him. His wife was still the feisty and devoted wife she had been for 50+ year
s, and she filled him with a continuing sense of purpose (and challenge). He feared he would lose her in 2004 when she had to undergo open heart surgery – he probably could not have survived without her and feared being without her more than anything – but she came through stronger than ever. His own health was declining, however, in ways that could not be repaired surgically. His blood pressure became increasingly unpredictable, and years of chronic hypertension had weakened and damaged his heart. He worked hard to control his diabetes and was largely successful. Both he and Helen felt it was time to make their last move to be closer to their children, and in May 2005, they moved to a perfect house in Westerville.
In his final two years, Ted seemed content but those around him could tell he was contemplating the end of his life. He spent more time thinking about it but not talking about it, except on a few occasions to Helen. He and Helen studied the Bible and talked about what was to come after the Resurrection. As a pharmacist, he knew that he was walking a tightrope. Eventually – sooner rather than later – one of his medical conditions was going to take him. After repeated trips by ambulance to the hospital, he and his family had become used to rushing to the emergency room only to find that he was all right after all – he just needed a different medication or a change of some kind and he was as good as ever. He knew better. The last trip was a shock to all – there would be no recovery. But he was ready.
Ted’s life does not end here. His love and example have shaped his children, grandchildren, and will shape his
great grandchildren. They, in turn, will influence others who they know during their lives. Ted was a private and humble man who never sought to build a monument to himself in life, but through his influence on others, he did so.
How he impacted me: Earlier in my life, I thought I was very different from him, and I am. However, like my Dad, I want to help others and use my time on Earth for a purpose. He taught me that by example. He taught me that the most important thing I could do in life is support my family and be respectful of my parents. I never doubted him when I was a kid – when he suffered setbacks in his career, I never feared that he would throw in the towel and abandon his family. We loved each other but rarely said so, and when we did, it was awkward. He was a decent, committed, loving person, and I’ll do my best to live up to his example.
-Ted Ford (son)
t in my family...my wake up call came from my parents.
