Town mourns passing of Mayor Eddy Ford
“I got to do a lot of important things with him with the Tennessee Municipal League and National League of Cities,” said Dot LaMarche, former Vice Mayor and South Ward alderman. “When we would go to these meetings, people were very, very fond of him.
“There were a lot of small cities with people who couldn’t believe how our Town was founded that we didn’t have a [property] tax, and, they loved Eddy,” she said.
“Even when he was out of office, I would go back [to the meetings], and they would ask me how he was,” LaMarche said. “I know he loved Farragut … and he and Linda were responsible for going up North and bringing back the [Admiral Farragut] stuff for the museum. I was really happy that they were able to do that.”
“Eddy was one of the finest men I ever knew. He did so much for the Town of Farragut,” former Farragut Alderman Bob Markli said. “He’s the one who got me involved in Town politics. He called me to the Development Process Review Board in 1995 or '96. That was my first foray into Town politics.”
“He was Mr. Farragut in my book,” Markli said. “He helped put the Town on the map, he and [first Mayor] Bob Leonard.”
“Eddy and I sat next to each other on the first Board of Mayor and Aldermen,” said Eric Johnson, Town co-founder and inaugural alderman. “We were aldermen for the first term, serving a new town.
“He was not involved in the founding of the Town, where I was so I had a head start and Eddy was playing catch-up,” Johnson said.
“His mother was a school teacher, and he was an expert in the English language,” he recalled of Ford. “Having lived in Farragut his entire life, he was diligent in his actions … was very proud of his community where he grew up.”
“He was one of these guys who listened to the people,” Ron Williams, the fourth mayor for the Town said of Ford. “He didn’t say a lot, but he listened to the people and you could see stuff happening … he put forth legislation and ordinances. He’d do what they wanted.”
“Eddy was one of the fine leaders of Farragut,” said Doug Horne, owner/developer of Horne Properties and owner of farragutpress. “He was vice mayor when Bob Leonard was the mayor.
“He was a very strong leader for the Town, and he was
very fair to everybody — the homeowners, the business interests and the community,” Horne added.
When Town attorney Tom Hale began serving Farragut, Ford “had already served as an alderman for 18 years and continued his voluntary, unpaid leadership of the Town for another 11 years,” Hale said. “During his tenure on the Board of Mayor and Aldermen, the Town’s population grew from around 6,000 in 1980 to around 21,000 in 2010.
“For a town to accommodate such growth, without a property tax I might add, requires resourceful leadership and management,” the attorney said. “Eddy provided that, not only through service on the Board and Planning Commission, but he was the chair of state boards that guided transportation and resource policy and the allocation of state and federal grant monies, such as a Regional Transportation Planning Organization.
“The citizens of Farragut should be forever grateful to both Eddy, and Linda, for their long-standing commitment of time, energy and integrity to lead the growth and development of the Town of Farragut,” Hale said.
At the Oct. 8 Board meeting, current Mayor Alex Cain formally announced, “Unfortunately, we received word today that the second mayor of Farragut Eddy Ford had passed away.
“Ford has the record of the longest-serving elected official we have, a record no one will ever top because of term limits. He served from 1980 to 2011,” Cain said. “I always listened to what his vision always was, for the Town. I know what he said in his letter and later, I know what he said is not what we have in the Town.”
“I just heard about [Ford’s passing], so I’m very sorry to hear that. I know he was an asset and well-liked in the community, so it’s very sad,” current Vice Mayor Greg Wiberley said.
“I’m sad to hear of Eddy Ford’s passing,” Alderman Joey Ruffalo said. “His
service to Farragut is an
important part of our Town’s history, and I’m grateful for his commitment to our community.”
“[Ford] was an alderman when I started with the Town in 1986,” said Bud McKelvey, retired Farragut Public Works director. “Then he was a mayor for 16 years.”
“He was a great mayor and real easygoing,” McKelvey remembered. “Very complementary of everything of the guys on the Public Works crew.
“He never wanted to go
into debt,” the former director recalled of Ford. “He wanted the Town to not borrow
money and pay for everything cash.
“He was a good leader for us,” McKelvey said. “He was very grateful for the position he
was in and he wanted the best for the Town in every way. The Town was still young and he worked us through a lot of things.”
“Once Mayor Ford took office after winning the election when Bob Leonard retired, he was very involved in all aspects of the Town's growth and development,” retired Parks and Recreation director Sue Stuhl said.
