Obituary of Jean Dickinson Ford

Jean Ford, (née Elizabeth Eugenia Dickinson), most recently of Venice, Florida, passed away peacefully on Friday, June 21, 2023.  She was 101 years old. 

Jean was born in Denmark, Tennessee, the middle sister of the three beautiful daughters of Ernest Eugene Dickinson and Vera King Dickinson. Jean stayed in Tennessee long enough to attend Union College before leaving to start a career with Delta Airlines. Jean was based in New Orleans where she was selected to help open a hub in Havana, Cuba.  

Jean loved late 40’s Cuba, but it was New Orleans that proved most special to her heart. It was there that she met and married the love of her life, Bruce Hamilton Ford, a Canadian RCAF pilot who looked to the US for the next phase of his life. Jean, a rising star in commercial aviation, and Bruce, a former member of the RCAF, shared a lifetime love of flying and travel. 

Jean and Bruce raised their three daughters Brenda, Jayne, and Mary Ellen in both Canada and Virginia.  She surrounded her life with friends and travel, accompanying Bruce on his work trips to various locations in the US, Caribbean, and Europe. Jean also travelled extensively with her brother-in-law, John P.H. Ford of Oakville, Ontario, and sisters-in-law Yvonne Lowe Ford of Oakville, Ontario, and Audrey Ford Grott of Tarrytown, New York.   

There were many beloved trips back home to Tennessee for reunions with her sisters and vast extended family. Her tight-knit Tennessee family and friends always remained close to her heart. Her vivid and favorite memories were always laced with stories about her sisters Margaret Dickinson Berry of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Frances Dickinson Thomas of Denmark, Tennessee, their children, and a vast network of aunts, great aunts, and cousins.   

Family, friends, and socializing were always at the core of Jean’s happiness.  When Bruce passed away in 1988, Jean moved from Englewood, Florida, to Venice, Florida, where she became very active with the Venice Yacht Club. She often modeled in their fashion shows and participated in many boat trips. Jean was an avid enthusiast of line dancing and water aerobics, preaching exercise and healthy eating long before those things became fashionable.  

Jean never stopped.  She was always quick with a smile or hello to all those she encountered, and she often mentioned how lucky she was to have such wonderful “neighborly neighbors.”  She will be remembered for her fashion sense, her signature Santa Fe silver jewelry, and her open and generous heart to all she encountered. 

Jean is survived by her daughter Brenda Ford Carleton and son-in-law Bruce Carleton of Venice, Florida, daughter Jayne Ford Jones and son-in-law Michael Jones of Athens, West Virginia, and daughter Mary Ford Parker and son-in-law David Parker of Round Hill, Virginia.  

She is survived by her six grandchildren:  Westanna Carleton of Washington, DC, Sarah Jones of Wheeling, West Virginia, Andrew Jones of Seattle, Washington, Jack Parker of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Peter Parker of Washington, DC, and Kate Parker of Charlottesville, Virginia.   

She is also survived by her sister-in-law, Yvonne Ford of Oakville, Ontario, Canada, her cousin Emma Vailes of Denmark, Tennessee, and a loving extended family spanning the US and Canada, including Peggy Franklin of Santa Fe, New Mexico, Judy Grott Lewis of Kennebunkport, Maine, Jill Ford Menard of Pittsford, New York, Susan Ford Bullock of Oakville, Ontario, Jennifer Ford Thomas of Brampton, Ontario, Kim Franklin Cerullo of Sarasota, Florida and Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Catherine Damey of Seattle, Washington. She was predeceased by nieces Joan Grott Azzerad of Nyack, New York, Beverly Grott of Tarrytown, New York, Pamela Thomas of Denmark, Tennessee, and Beth O’Neil of Collierville, Tennessee.  

We want to offer heartfelt thanks to Mary Ann Hodge of Mary’s on Bayshore, where Jean resided and received expert and loving care for the last years of her life.  Mary Ann and her daughter Katherine Hodge-Corrigan were like family to Jean, and we will forever be appreciative of these remarkable women who made Jean comfortable, happy, and loved.