Charlotte Ford

NAME: AGE: Charlotte Carleah Ford RESIDENT OF: Visalia DATE OF DEATH: 11-01-2016 OCCUPATION: Vocational Instructor PLACE OF DEATH: Visalia Charlotte was born on June 5th, 1951 in Tulare, CA to parents Jim and Ila Mae Ferris. She attended Redwood high school and graduated in 1969. In 1971 Charlotte was married to her life-long partner, Don Ford. Together they moved to Germany where they spent three years living and traveling while Don served in the U.S. Army. The couple returned to Visalia, Ca. in 1974. After returning from Germany, Charlotte attended San Joaquin Valley College and became a Registered Dental Assistant. She worked for many years as a Dental Assistant and later moved on to Medical Transcribing so that she could work and stay at home with her children. Once her children were grown, Charlotte worked as a Vocational Instructor for the California Department of Corrections where she worked until she retired. Charlotte is mother to three children, Jason, Willy and Chelsea. Her children were the center of her attention and she made it her life’s work raising and caring for them. Many nights she is remembered for rushing around town, dropping off and picking up her kids from numerous sporting, dance and church events, and then rushing home to cook dinner and complete homework with them to ensure that her family had the best of everything. Later in her life, Charlotte enjoyed spending time with her grandchildren, watching them play, teaching them, watching movies with them, going to their soccer games, and taking them to church. Charlotte, known as “Grammy” to her grandchildren was the greatest grandmother, and she always took every opportunity to spend time with her grandchildren, even when it meant making sacrifices on her own behalf. Charlotte was a devout Christian, and dedicated her life to the lord. There was no better example of a Christian than Charlotte according to her children. One of Charlotte’s greatest qualities was her ability to talk to people. She will always be remembered for the many times that she was able to pick a stranger out of a crowd at any social gathering and have an intimate conversation with them. She was one of the most approachable and non-judgmental people that you could have met. She loved life, loved people and took a genuine interest in everyone. Charlotte is survived by her mother, Ila Mae, brother Steve, husband of 45 years, Don, son Jason and wife Erin, son Willy and wife Sarah, daughter Chelsea and husband Justin, and her six grandchildren, Jackson, Olivia, Asa, Emily, Clay and Ezekiel. A Celebration of Life will be held on December 10, 2016 at 12:00pm at Salser and Dillard Funeral Chapel followed by a reception at the Visalia PPAV Hall. All are welcome to attend. A memorial tribute may be offered by logging onto www.salseranddillard.com

Charlotte Ford

June 5, 1951 - November 1, 2016