Dwain L. Ford

Dr. Dwain Ford quietly passed away at his Gilead Assisted Living home on November 7, 2021 at age 93. He was preceded in death by his wife Lorraine, son Larry and great-grandson Joe. Dwain and Lorraine are buried together at Union Cemetery in Berrien Center, Michigan close to where they had lived in retirement.

They are survived by two children, son David (wife Nancy Leland) in Washington state and daughter Diane in Berrien Springs. They have three grandchildren, including Jim Ford (wife Lisa) in New Hampshire, Jes Ford (husband Lee Wence), and her sister Alison Ford in Salt Lake City, Utah. They have one great-grandson Christopher Ford (wife Sarah) in Maine.

Dr. Ford was born in Nevada, Iowa on December 21, 1927. He was number two of six brothers born to Paul and Orpha Ford. He married his life-long companion Lorraine in 1947. Dwain taught at Wisconsin Academy from 1949-1957 before leaving to study at Clark University in Massachusetts where he earned his doctorate in chemistry.

Dr. Ford arrived at Andrews University in Berrien Springs to begin his teaching there in 1962. He became Chairman of the Chemistry Department in 1963. He held that position until 1971 when he became Dean of the College until 1981. When a vacancy opened in the Chemistry Department, he chose to return there to teach organic chemistry. He also assumed the role of Ombudsman for the next eight years. When he halfway retired in 1993, he continued to teach part-time in the Mathematics and Science Center Program until 1995. Dr. Ford received numerous awards for his teaching, including being chosen “Teacher of the Year” three times by the student association.

Dr. Ford’s retirement included serving on the Biblical Research Institute Science Committee, studying geology and fossils for 25 years. His basement should have been a museum!

Over the years, Dwain and Lorraine opened their home from time to time to provide food and housing for a total of 20 students attending Andrews University. This practice continued into retirement.

Dr. Ford spent 1996-1998 as the volunteer coordinator for the addition of two wings to the Pioneer Memorial Church. He went from there to Battle Creek, Michigan to work for a few years on the restoration of the historic Adventist Village.

The remainder of his time on earth was spent working with Habitat for Humanity and Maranatha, constructing and repairing homes. In his spare time he continued gardening and preserving their food supply and following his passion for cutting down trees for anyone that needed tree removal. His evening hobby was pursuing his family genealogy, ultimately producing a lineage back to 274 A.D.

His was truly a life fully lived.