Clarence Verge Ford Jr (1938 - 2013)

Born 24 Sep 1938 in Wynne, Cross, Arkansas, United States

Ancestors

Died 18 Mar 2013 at age 74 in Gulf Breeze, Santa Rosa, Florida, United States

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Biography

Clarence Ford Jr is Notable.

Clarence Verge Ford Jr was a veteran, lawyer and politician. He was a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1975 to 1976. He enlisted in the Arkansas National Guard as a private and rose to the rank of colonel. He later moved to Florida and was elected to the Florida House of Representatives and served as the Deputy Whip. He was recognized for his service in the Florida legislature by naming a Minority Scholarship for accounting students, the Clay Ford Scholarship Progarm.^[1]

Clarence Verge Ford Jr was born on September 24, 1938 in Wynne, Cross County, Arkansas. His father was Clarence Verge Ford Sr, and his mother Bonnie Louise (Glenn) Ford.^[2][1] He attended high school in Wynne and grew up in the city.^[3][4]

From 1955 to 1988, he served in the infantry in the United States Army, the Army Reserve, and the Arkansas National Guard, advancing from private to colonel. He studied at the United States Army War College in Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, and the United States Air Force War College in Frankfurt, Germany. In 1969, he received a Bachelor of Arts in Finance from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Washington County, Arkansas. In 1978, he obtained a Juris Doctor from the University of Arkansas School of Law in Fayetteville, and in 1986, he obtained a Master of Science degree in public administration from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania.

During this period, he was a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1975 to 1976. In 1977, he was a member of the Special School District Board in Pulaski County, Arkansas for Little Rock, and in 1978 he was a delegate to the Arkansas Constitutional Convention in Little Rock.^[1]

He left Arkansas, and moved to Florida, where in 1990 served on the Gulf Breeze City Council and was president of the Florida League of Cities from 2004 to 2005. On February 27, 2007, he was elected to the Florida House of Representatives.^[1]

He died on March 18, 2013 in Gulf Breeze, Florida.^[5][6] He was buried at Roselawn Memorial Park in Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas.^[7] After his death the Florida house recognized him by naming the Minority Scholarship for accounting students the Clay Ford Scholarship Progarm.^[1]

During his life, he married Carol Ann DeBusk, and together they had three children.^[7]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4} Wikipedia Contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, last edited on 26 Mar 2023. "Clarence Verge Ford Jr." Accessed 14 Jun 2023.
2. ↑ U.S., Cemetery and Funeral Home Collection, 1847-Current: Publication Date: 2/ Nov/ 2019; Publication Place: Winter Park, Florida, USA; URL: https://www.roselawn-fh.com/notices/Clay-FordJr Ancestry Record 2190 #267992456
3. ↑ 1940 United States Federal Census: Year: 1940; Census Place: Wynne, Cross, Arkansas; Roll: m-t0627-00132; Page: 6B; Enumeration District: 19-18 Ancestry Record 2442 #101104628
4. ↑ 1950 United States Federal Census: United States of America, Bureau of the Census; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790-2007; Record Group Number: 29; Residence Date: 1950; Home in 1950: Wynne, Cross, Arkansas; Roll: 511; Sheet Number: 15; Enumeration District: 19-33 Ancestry Record 62308 #31338965
5. ↑ U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current: Publication Place: Florida, USA; URL: http://www.tributes.com/obituary/print_selections/95587659?type=1 Ancestry Record 7545 #316062866
6. ↑ U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014: Social Security Administration; Washington D.C., USA; Social Security Death Index, Master File Ancestry Record 3693 #93515958
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} Burial: Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/107039873/clarence-verge-caldwell_ford: accessed 14 June 2023), memorial page for Clarence Verge -Clay- Caldwell Ford Jr. (24 Sep 1938–18 Mar 2013), Find A Grave: Memorial #107039873, citing Roselawn Memorial Park, Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas, USA; Maintained by Melissa (contributor 47472247).