Roger S. Ford

March 17, 1944 - January 24, 2021

Roger Sumner Ford, age 76, of North Ridgeville, passed away peacefully in his home on January 24, 2021. Born in Akron, he had been a resident of North Ridgeville since 1981. Roger was a self-taught engineer who loved to create, design and build things. He worked in production engineering and management for nearly 30 years at Kirby Company in Cleveland, retiring in 2007. Roger found peace and beauty in nature, taking regular trips with his wife to Hocking Hills, where Conkles Hollow was their most treasured spot. They also loved spending time at their cabin with dear Tabor Lake friends. Roger served as president of the lake association for several years, helping to take care of his cabin community. In recent years, he and Carol loved driving Route 66 to Phoenix and spending winters there with their daughter. The three were an inseparable trio, and Roger was their anchor. Roger was a politics and history buff, a music lover, musician and swing dancer. He and Carol loved dancing to big band swing, and his daughter is thrilled that she got him out to jitterbug one last time before the pandemic hit. He played piano and saxophone, sang in several barbershop quartets, and loved singing barbershop with his late father and uncles at family reunions. He cherished his lifelong friendships with his Highland High School classmates. He especially enjoyed sharing memories at their regular get-togethers and making everyone laugh when he played emcee at their reunions. Roger’s warm smile, big heart, sage advice, and irreverent sense of humor will be terribly missed. In addition to Carol, his wife of 48 years, and daughter, Melanie, survivors include his brother, Russell Ford, many dear cousins, and Butchie, a very special rescue dog. He was preceded in death by his parents, Bruce and Annette Ford, his Aunt Truth, and several beloved uncles: Truman, Gene, Byron, George, Wilbur and Marvin. A private celebration of Roger will be held when loved ones can get together again. Memorial contributions may be made at https://www.conservationfund.org/donate/ways-to-give to help protect the natural places Roger loved, or to the Diabetes Foundation at www.diabetesfoundationinc.org to help others with this disease.