John Calvin Ford, Jr.

John Calvin Ford, Jr. was born on September 3,1955 to Vivian Kate and John Calvin Ford at Florence Nightingale Hospital, Dallas, Texas and flew to Jesus on February 6, 2023. He spent his growing up years in Dallas and Ft. Worth. He graduated from Richland High School in 1973. While in high school, Jesus invaded his heart, and John became deeply involved with Young Life, a ministry for teenagers. At Young Life he was known as “the camp rat” because every time camp sign up was announced, he was the first to sign up. When he was a senior, John joined friends to begin a Young Life club for middle schoolers, calling it Younger Life, which later evolved into Wyld Life. The Young Life friendships John formed during those years remained important to him his entire life. The University of Texas was his next stop. He would often tell people he majored in Young Life and Frisbee golf. It was at UT that he met the love of his life, Kathy Young, in 1976. John and Kathy were married on June 14, 1980. John graduated from UT in 1977 with a business degree. He began working for a small remodeling company where he fell in love with woodworking, which became a lifelong passion. Dallas Seminary would be his next stop, graduating in 1983 with a ThM in Biblical Studies. Johns’ first full-time ministry position was as a youth pastor at Grace Community Church in College Station. This was no small compromise for a diehard Longhorn! After three years there, he enrolled at The Institute for Biblical Counseling where graduated with a MA in Biblical Counseling from Grace Seminary in Winona Lake, Indiana. Johns’ passion for helping hurting people find healing and hope was awakened. In 1992, he joined the staff at Wayside Chapel in San Antonio as pastor of counseling and congregational care. John lovingly served the people of Wayside for 20 years. From 2012-2017 he served as chaplain at The Haven River Inn. It was at the Haven that God awakened yet another passion for John, counseling and mentoring ministry leaders. In March 2017, he and Kathy joined the staff of Paraclete Mission Group. For the past 6 years, John had great joy of serving alongside Kathy, as they continued to counsel and mentor ministry leaders. In 2019, after being diagnosed with prostate cancer, John was enrolled in a clinical trial under the care of Dr. Ian Thompson III, being the first man in the world to undergo a nano-particle treatment through MagForce. God used John mightily to spread His word in the medical community through Johns’ involvement with the trial group. The garage and Home Depot were John’s happy places. He will long be remembered for his corny jokes, and his ability to bring light into any room he entered. John was telling jokes until the very end of his days with the hospital staff, who quickly fell in love with him. The Ford family would like to especially thank Dr. Mark Jung and Dr. Vinu Madhu who spent countless hours diligently working towards finding a path to wellness from this rare blood disorder, aPS. We would also like to acknowledge the staff at St. Luke’s Baptist Hospital and Methodist Hospital for their care of John during his illness. John is survived by his beloved wife, Kathy of 42 ½ years, his son Joshua (Jenna) and daughter Kelli (Arthur), and by his grandchildren; Landon, Lauchlin, Emlyn and Artemis, his loving dog Kandy, cousins, in-laws and many dear friends. His memorial service will be on Saturday, February 11, 2PM at Hillside Fellowship, Spring Branch with reception immediately following at MyCBC, Spring Branch, TX.