Obituary of Willard Lawence Ford

Willard Lawrence Ford died peacefully on February 17, 2016 surrounded by his wife and three children. Born July 17, 1931 in Hartford, CT, he was the oldest child of Norris and Millicent (Tate) Ford. Along with his brother Bud and sister Alyce, he grew up in West Hartford, attending schools there and graduating from Hall High School in 1949. His love of science led him to a BS degree in Electrical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1953. While there he was an active founding member of the Delta Psi chapter of Sigma Chi Fraternity as well as being elected to the academic honorary fraternities of Eta Kappa Nu, Tau Beta Pi and Sigma Xi. In 1960 he received a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern University. Married on June 20, 1953 to Nancy Redway of East Windsor, they moved to Watertown, MA where Will began his 40 year career with Raytheon Company. In 1957 they moved to Sudbury, MA where they lived for 36 years and raised their children. Will became active in the Sudbury United Methodist Church where he served on many committees, chaired the trustees, as well as sang in the church choir. He became chairman of the Sudbury Savoyards, an offshoot of the church, producing Gilbert and Sullivan operettas for 17 years, and was made" Yeoman of Regard" by that group for his many years of involvement. Will's work at Raytheon involved the early planning stages of the Hawk and Sparrow missile and radar programs. In 1979 he was named a Consulting Engineer, the highest professional and engineering level attainable at Raytheon. This honor is given in special recognition of continued outstanding research or engineering achievements over a lengthy period of time. He also authored a number of technical papers in his field. He was technical director of the company's NATO Seasparrow Program and this responsibility required his extensive travel to all the NATO countries, Australia and Asia, as well as periods of living in England and Denmark with his family. After retirement in 1994 Will and Nan moved to Westbrook, CT to the beach community where they had summered and met as children in 1938. He continued his active participation in church at the Westbrook Congregational Church. He served several terms as chairman of trustees as well as property committee chairman. He served on the church committee that purchased the Pratt House property. He also continued to sing in the church choir, completing 45 years in that role. In 2011 he and Nan moved to Essex Meadows, a full care retirement community where he lived until his death. His faith and love of family were high priorities for Will. Woodworking, reading voraciously, and the enjoyment of symphonic and operatic music also played a big part in his life. He leaves his high school sweetheart, best friend and wife of 62 years, Nan; as well as daughter Lisa Hirayama and husband Dr. Kimo of Seattle, WA; son Lawrence Ford and wife Yvette of Glastonbury, CT; daughter Katherine Gakis and husband Jim of Marlboro, MA; grandchildren Kai and Kian Hirayama, Alexa, Chandler and Sage Ford, Chancie and Josh Montgomery, Sophia, Elena, Katina and Theo Gakis. He also leaves his brother Norris Ford of Westbrook, CT and his sister Alyce Ford Hild and her husband Dr. David Hild of West Hartford and Westbrook; as well as many neices and nephews. He will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him. A memorial service will be held at Westbrook Congregational Church on April 23, 2016 at 11:30AM. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Westbrook Congregational Church , 1166 Boston Post Road, Westbrook, CT 06498 or the Essex Meadows Scholarship Fund, 30 Bokum Rd., Essex, CT 06426. To share a memory of Will or send a condolence to his family please visit www.rwwfh.com . Arrangements by the Robinson, Wright & Weymer Funeral Home in Centerbrook.