Joe Ford Obituary

Joe Dacus Ford of Bayfield, CO passed away on July 11, 2022, at Evenings Porch Assisted Living in Bayfield, CO. He was 94 years old. Joe was born to Orval Jennings Ford and Lillie Mae (Parker) Ford on January 1, 1928 in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Before he was one year old the family moved to Hagerman, NM where his father would manage cotton gins in the Pecos Valley. Joe graduated from Hagerman High in 1946. He graduated from Eastern New Mexico University in 1950.

Joe married his high school sweetheart, Billie Jane (Mayberry) Ford, on June 15, 1946 in Pecos, TX. With three children in tow, they moved to Aztec, NM in 1954 where Joe was employed as a teacher in the school system. After three years and summer jobs in real estate sales, he decided to quit teaching and coaching and sell real estate full time. That decision led him to start Ford Realty in Aztec and later Durango Realty and other brokerages in La Plata County, Colorado. While in Aztec, he was Mayor in 1964 and 1966.

After selling real estate in the Vallecito Valley for several years, Joe & Jane moved permanently from Aztec to their home just south of Vallecito Reservoir in 1972. They later moved into Bayfield in 1994 where they resided until moving to Evenings Porch Assisted Living in Bayfield in 2021.

Joe was a world class bass fisherman, qualifying for the national tournaments, and an accomplished hunter, having achieved the grand slam of bighorn sheep over his hunting career. He was also a successful golfer in his earlier days. As a realtor, he had a hand in several well-known subdivisions in the Pine River Valley. He was one of the original founders of the Pine River Valley Bank in Bayfield in 1977.

Joe Ford is preceded in death by his wife of 75+ years, Jane Ford, who passed away in March, 2022. He is survived by his sister Ruth McGuire Speegle of Las Cruces/Ruidoso, NM; his four children: Janie Volkert of Farmington, NM, Danny (Cyndee) Ford, Sr, of Bayfield, CO, Debbie (Butch) McCormack of Norman, OK, and Scott (Lynn) Ford of Albuquerque, NM; seven grandchildren, 14 great grandchildren, and one great-great grandchild.

Cremation will occur. A memorial service is planned for a later date.