Marian Jean Ford, 71, of 560 Pine Branch Road, passed away on Monday, June 9, 2025, at home.
Marian was the daughter of Marion Glenn Ford and Brooke Stanbery Ford. She retired from the Catawba County School System after 37 years of service in various roles, including home economics teacher, extended day Coordinator, and apprenticeship coordinator. She was instrumental in starting the apprenticeship program in Catawba County Schools.
Marian loved her family and friends with unwavering devotion. She dedicated several years of her life to caring for her ailing father and mother. She was the happiest preparing home-cooked meals for family, friends, and those in need. She enjoyed spending her time in the summer in her garden and always shared the bounty with family and friends. She had an uncanny knowledge of family genealogy, distant and close, and could always offer information on relatives and their connections.
Marian was a lifelong member of Laurel Springs Baptist Church and served on various committees. She shared beautiful homegrown flowers to decorate the church on Sundays and special occasions. She served on the social committee and was always available to prepare meals for shut-ins and sick church members. She also volunteered her time tutoring children in the church’s weekly tutoring program. One of Marian’s passions was packing shoeboxes to be distributed by Samaritan’s Purse for Operation Christmas Child.
She is survived by a brother, Mark Ford, and his wife, Gail, of Boone, North Carolina, and a brother-in-law, the Rev. H. E. Barkley, of Columbia, South Carolina. She is also survived by two nieces, Erin Ford Patterson and husband, John, of Boone and Meredith Barkley Murphy and husband, Andy, of Lexington, South Carolina; one nephew, Michael Barkley of Columbia, South Carolina; a great niece, Lauren Elizabeth Patterson, of Boone, North Carolina; a great nephew, Luke Murphy of Lexington, South Carolina; and a special aunt, Betty Hughes and husband, Doug, of Boone, North Carolina. She is also survived by numerous special cousins and dear friends.
Marian was preceded in death by her parents and her sister, Rebecca Ford Barkley.
Services for Marian will be held on Saturday, June 14, 2025 at Laurel Springs Baptist Church, 7504 US Hwy 421 South, Deep Gap, North Carolina, 28618 at 2:00 p.m. The family will receive friends from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. prior to the service. Interment will follow at the Laurel Springs Baptist Church cemetery.
*All obituaries are submitted by family and friends of the deceased.
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