Obituary: Mary Elizabeth (Betty) Ford

Mary Elizabeth (Betty) Ford, age 94, of Woodbridge passed away Thursday, February 17, 2022 at St. Raphael’s Hospital after a short illness. Betty was born on April 21, 1927, in Shelton, Connecticut, to the late Henry and Winifred (Doyle) Mester. She married Austin T. Ford in November, 1958. They had 33 years together before his death in 1991. Betty attended St. Joseph Grammar School, St. Marys Academy in New Haven, and Larson College (Quinnipiac College) majoring in Business Administration. She went to work at the Yale Medical School, and retired after 55 years having earned the title of Administrative Director of the Jane Coffin Childs Foundation. She was an active communicant of Church of Our Lady of the Assumption in Woodbridge and a member of the Racebrook Country Club. Betty’s life had been blessed with a great career, a wonderful marriage, a great circle of friends and a loving family. She enjoyed playing bridge and having lunch with these friends. After Austin’s death, she enjoyed the companionship of two special men, Jeremiah Keefe and after his death, Robert Brennan. She enjoyed traveling with them and spent winters in Florida. How blessed she was to have these three men in her life and who loved and cared for her. The family would like to thank the Keefe and Brennan families who welcomed her into their lives. The highlight of every year was Betty’s Thanksgiving Day feast. She insisted on doing all the cooking and baking herself until the last few years when she had to pass the tasks on to the next generation, but still supervised the entire process. Helena came from Sweden most years to celebrate the holiday. Betty’s home was warm and welcoming, always full of food and drink for anyone who stopped by. The family thanks her for all she has done over the years and she will be missed dearly. Betty leaves behind an “adopted” daughter, Helena Hammar and husband Mats, who spent her high school years as an exchange student with Betty and Austin, and with whom she kept close contact with since. She also leaves her niece Susan (Mester) Dickson and husband Robert and their children, Robert Dickson and fiancee Teri Houser, Michael Dickson and fiancee Ashley Sullivan, Anne Kelleher and husband Ryan, Sarah Nelson and husband Anthony, her nephew Douglas Ford and niece Dale Ford and their child, Lindsey Houtz and husband Sean, a nephew Jeffrey Ford and wife Debbie. She was also survived by her great nieces and nephews, Brynn and Conor Kelleher, Anthony and Christopher Nelson, Ella and Neve Mickiewicz and Quinton, Eli and Abigail Houtz. She was predeceased by her brother John Mester and his wife, Evelyn. A brother in law and sister in law, Henry and Dorothy Ford, and three nephews: Robert Ford, John Mester and Daniel Mester. On Wednesday, friends may call from 8:45 to 10:15 AM at the Riverview Funeral Home, 390 River Rd., Shelton. Masks are required in the funeral home. At 10:15 am her funeral procession will leave the funeral home for her Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 AM at Church of Our Lady of the Assumption in Woodbridge. Her burial will follow at Mt. St. Peter Cemetery in Derby. The family requests that memorial contributions in Betty’s name may be made to the Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund at Yale Medical School, 300 Cedar St., P.O. Box 20800, New Haven, CT 06510 or the West Springfield Massachusetts Special Olympics, 512 Forest St., Marlborough, MA 01752 in care of Lynn McCarthy, in memory of Betty’s nephew, Daniel. Friends may leave condolences at www.riverviewfh.com.