In loving memory ~
Ever the perfectionist, Mickey Allan Ford died peacefully, painlessly, slipping away just days after being felled by a massive stroke, while visiting his children on Vancouver Island. His last few days before the stroke were filled with some of his best things: tennis with daughter Laura and son Ryan; walks on the beach; billiards in the afternoon, boating on the ocean, good conversation, and petting the dog.
Mic had a great life. He was raised as an only child, in Coquitlam, by Dorothy and Allan Ford. He was mistaken for Elvis once, and could sing and play the guitar. He married neighbourhood girl Collene Hallam and they had daughter Laura (Erin Turner) and son Ryan (Colleen Bergen).
After trying a number of jobs, including becoming a public health inspector following studies at BCIT, he ultimately found his calling owning and operating a successful Duradek franchise in Salmon Arm.
His first marriage over, Mic was lucky enough to find deep and lasting love, in Revelstoke, with a young English nurse named Sue Cogswell. She brought sunshine and enthusiasm to everything they did, including building their first home in Tappen and buying/fixing up/managing several rental properties. They had 45 amazing years together. Friends, lovers, adventurers, companions, confidantes, cheerleaders, soul mates, tea makers.
And they had fun. So much fun. Mic was the catalyst for many adventures. White water canoeing and kayaking. Leisurely floats down the Shuswap River. Hiking, snowboarding, and cross-country at the Larch Hills. Camping in BC with longer winter stays in Palm Springs. E-biking everywhere. And the sailing! Mic loved sailing. He and Sue and other invited friends plied the waters of the BC coast for years, in sailboats that always seemed to get bigger.
And tennis. So much tennis. For decades, Mic and Sue have loved their gang at the Salmon Arm Tennis Club. Remarkably, Mic, at age 85, competed in both mixed and men's doubles at the senior's games recently held in Salmon Arm just one month ago.
Mic will be dearly missed not only by Sue (and Bella the dog) and his children (and their spouses), but by all the folks in the community that made his life in Salmon Arm such a wonderful one. This includes everyone at the tennis club, old friends at the Larch Hills Ski Club, "the guys" he's been meeting at Askews for coffee for years, the film society gang, and his wonderful neighbours (in particular Joy and Jay's delightful children, Archer, Asa, Charlotte, and Claire Mayer, surrogate grandchildren to Mic and Sue). And let's not forget everyone who ever gifted Mic with free firewood that he continued to meticulously split and stack, right up to 10 days before his death.
Rest in peace my love, your Sue.
A celebration of life will be scheduled in the early spring. To leave an online message of condolence, please visit www.bowersfuneralservice.com.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the BC Heart and Stroke Foundation.