James Marshall Ford entered the living world September 30th, 1927 in Ryderwood Washington.  He was the only son born to Bernice and Marshall Ford, growing up with three sisters.  He passed away peacefully in his sleep May 26, 2017 at his home on the beach in Anacortes. Our greater community lost a tireless advocate for all, especially those less fortunate.

Jim grew up in the woods around Ryderwood, WA. His father would drive him out to the Mount St. Helens and Spirit Lake area in the summers, where he camped out alone —for seven to ten days--in the woods. Jim believed his boyhood wanderings in the woods and natural curiosity about the world led him down the educational path he chose in life—ultimately leading to a Doctorate in Cell Biology, and a minor in genetics.

After the family moved to Longview, he excelled in four sports at RA Long High School, including track and baseball in the same season. His true passion was football, later playing quarterback at St. Martins College, Lower Columbia and Western Washington State College. He earned honorable mention "Little All American" as a defensive back at St. Martins. For a brief period, he held the NCAA lead in punt returns. Jim's team doctor at St. Martins was "The Great Imposter." As a result, his broken ankle never fully healed.

Another chapter in Jim's life began when he was hastily rushed through boot camp at age 17 after forging his mother's signature. He turned down a medal for a courageous act  during WWII while commanding his landing craft, because he saw it as "his duty." He boxed aboard his ship in a Golden Gloves bout refereed by Jack Dempsey. Jim was mostly a peace-loving man but felt honored to serve his country in WWII.

His undergraduate studies, through the GI Bill, included St. Martins College, Lower Columbia College, The University of Washington and Western Washington University (then WWSC), where he earned his Bachelor's degree in Biology and met Frances while sweeping the Women's Gymnasium floor. After graduation from Western, Jim and Fran married in 1951 and started their teaching careers. He taught and coached football at Bellevue High School for three years, inheriting a winless team and producing a Kingco Conference Champion.

On a National Science Foundation Grant, he received his Masters of Science in Cell Biology from Oregon State University. Jim and Fran came to Skagit Valley College in 1954. He taught and coached for six years and coordinated the night school before taking leave to achieve his Doctorate in 1960 from his beloved OSU. Jim and Fran had their first son Brian in 1953. Douglas was born in 1955, Jean in 1957, Stuart in 1960, and finally Greg in 1963. Jim was fiercely loyal to his children and grandchildren; he remained an integral part of their lives up until his passing.

Continuing on through NSF grants, Jim did Post-Doctoral studies at Stanford University and U. C. Berkeley and later served on the NSF Board in Washington DC. In the late 1960s several publishing companies approached Jim to write a biology textbook unlike all the others. He and Jim Monroe wrote and edited "Living Systems: Principles and Relationships" in 1971. It was a successful textbook adopted by countless colleges and universities well into the 1980s. After two revisions of Living Systems, he later wrote "Some Common Sense About Leadership."

He continued his career as Dean of Instruction and became the third President of SVC in 1977, shepherding the college through the recession of the early 1980s without sacrificing the integrity of instruction. He developed many lifetime friendships with his fellow college presidents. He also served for many years on the college accreditation board, where he was involved in the accreditation of all two and four year colleges and universities in the western states. He retired from Skagit in 1995. After his retirement from SVC, he served as interim president of North Seattle College for one year.

Jim continued to be active in his community. He was a lifelong learner and teacher. Jim was instrumental in envisioning, and ultimately delivering, a state of the art facility to the Skagit Valley community—McIntyre Hall. He taught "The Joy of Science" in the Senior College in Anacortes. Jim was active in the establishment of the North Cascades Institute, which he considered a critical portal of environmental education for the community at large.

Jim is survived by all his children except Brian—Douglas (Lisa), Jean (Bret), Stuart (Marcy), and Greg (Leslie) and grandchildren Amanda (Braden) and Ian Ford, Spencer and Laura Andrich, Ryan Ford, Conor, Clara, and Charlotte Ford, Great Grandchild Brian Towlerton and nephew Mike Bradburn.

A Memorial Service honoring Jim will be held on Friday, July 21, 2017 at 2:00 pm at Skagit Valley College campus (exact location TBD). A reception in McIntyre Hall will follow. In lieu of flowers, donations to SVC Foundation, Skagit Land Trust, North Cascades Institute, or Friends of the Anacortes Community Forest Lands would be appreciated.

Arrangements are under the care of Hawthorne Funeral Home, Mount Vernon, WA.

Science is part of the reality of living; it is the what, the how, and the why of everything in our experience.

Rachel Carson