Deacon John Ford

Early Life

John Ford was born in London on March 26, 1931, his parents being Francis and Doris Ford. When he was 17 years old he joined the Royal Navy and travelled the world. Then he married his wife Pamela in 1956. The following year they migrated to South Australia. John was an electronics engineer and worked at GEC, often spending time at Woomera. Their first son Gary was born in 1961, Alan a year later and Julie in 1966. He was always a loving husband to Pam and a devoted father to his children.

But John had two accidents, one at Woomera and the other at Flinders Hospital where he was the senior electronic technician. Then he had a heart attack in 1982 – and life changed from then on. From when he was a young man, John had been devoted to the Catholic Church and was a member of the Knights of the Southern Cross. He began to work with his wife at St Laurence’s parish at North Adelaide and later at the Rosary Church at Prospect – quite convenient as they lived in Barker Road, Prospect. He had a close relationship with the Dominican Fathers, having lived for 35 years in their parish. He was a member of the Dominican Laity Group.

Pam encouraged him to study for a Bachelor of Theology at Flinders University. After he graduated he went on to prepare for the Diaconate and he was ordained a Permanent Deacon on December 19, 1992.

Appointments
In January 1993 John was appointed to work as a deacon in the Hectorville parish. Three years later he was asked to work in the Dominican parish at North Adelaide. In November 2002 he was appointed Chaplain to the Adelaide Remand Centre and also at Yatala Labour Prison. At the same time he was asked to be Spiritual Adviser to the North Adelaide/Prospect Conference of the St Vincent de Paul Society. As he always felt deeply for the poor and disadvantaged he was happy to do this work.

When asked to undertake the work as a prison chaplain he didn’t hesitate as he was one who believed that God could touch even the hardest of hearts. He once said: “A lot of people turn to God in prison because there’s nobody else.” John saw potential good in all people and applied himself diligently to the task.

On April 24, 2006 he died peacefully in the Royal Adelaide Hospital. He had been a devoted husband, father, grandfather and friend, and a deeply committed clergyman who took great comfort and strength from his faith.

His Funeral Mass was celebrated in the Rosary Church at Prospect and his mortal remains, according to his wishes, were cremated.

May he rest in peace.