Louis Kenneth Ford passed away on August 22, 2006 at the age of 88 at Kadlec Hospital. Louis was born July 26, 1918 in McWhorter, WV to Herbert and Nancy Ford. He married his “Little Turtledove”, Betty Dolsby, in 1939.

Carpenter’s Mate 1/c Louis Kenneth Ford was born on July 26, 1918, and is the son of H.L. Ford of West Virginia, and the husband of Betty Louise Ford of Stinnett. On June 16, 1943, he volunteered for the Seabees, and was trained at Camps Peary, Parks, and Port Hueneme. He served in Australia and New Guinea from January 1944 until October 1944 when he participated in the battle of San Juanico Strait between Leyte and Samar in the Philippines. His Bn., the 105th, was the first to land in the Philippines coming ashore at Tacloban on Leyte. He also served at Catbalogan and Guiuan on Samar Island, and on the islands of Macatan and Cebu. He was awarded three Bronze Star Medals, Philippine Liberation Ribbon, Philippine Campaign Ribbon, Asiatic-Pacific Ribbon, three Navy Commendations for duties performed. He was discharged on November 27, 1945 as Chief Petty Officer.

Louis and Betty started their family in Texas and in 1947 moved to Prosser. They later settled in Richland where they resided for 52 years. Louis worked at the Hanford site as a Millwright. Throughout his career he traveled all over the United States and Canada, installing turbines, later working for Boeing and Rockwell where he retired as a Construction Engineer in 1984.

His love of baseball led Louis to become involved with his grandchildren in Little League throughout the Tri-Cities. Louis and Betty celebrated their 67th wedding anniversary on August 19, 2006.

Louis is survived by his wife Betty of Richland; children and their spouses, Ken and Gail Ford of Richland, Robert and Debby Ford of Richland, Cheryl and Gene Rogers of Pasco, Nancy and Mark Crawford of Stanwood; grandchildren and their spouses, Jason and Jenny Ford, Jeff and Jessica Ford, Jed Ford, Katie Ford, Cody Whitaker, Teal Whitaker, Eric Rogers, Jeremy and Katie Rogers, Greg and Mindy Rogers, Lauren, Craig, Leanna and Lyndsay Crawford; great-grandchildren, Trevor, Taylor, Jamisyn and Jace Ford, Ethan, Emily and Colin Rogers, and Logan and Zachary Rogers; sisters, Maurine Gordon of PA, Viviane Intogna of AZ, and Martha Van King of WV; numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Herbert and Nancy Ford; sister, Elizabeth McCombs; brothers, George, Herbert and Max Ford.

Memorial services will be held Friday, August 25, 2006 at Richland Baptist Church at 2:00 PM, followed by Military Honors at Sunset Memorial Gardens, Richland.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Disabled American Veterans, PO Box 14301, Cincinnati, OH 45250, or to American Diabetes Association, PO Box 375, Richland, WA 99352.