JoAnn Ford

Services celebrating the life of JoAnn Breedlove Ford will be held Tuesday, April 19, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. at the First United Methodist Church in Natchitoches, Louisiana. Visitation will be held at the Blanchard St. Denis Funeral Home on Monday, April 18, 2011, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Officiating the service will be Reverend Doug deGraffenried of First United Methodist Church. Interment will follow at Memory Lawn Cemetery. JoAnn was born in Natchitoches, Louisiana on November 20, 1932 to Edward Calvin Breedlove, Sr. of Natchitoches and Josie Fae Adams of Angie, Louisiana. After receiving her B.A. degree in music at Louisiana State University, she married the love of her life, James Allan Ford, on August 9, 1955. Mrs. Ford is survived by her two loving children, Loren Ford of Natchitoches, Louisiana, and James Allan Ford, Jr. of Laurel, Mississippi and his wife, Tamara Ford; two grandchildren, Mallory Ford Yoder and her husband Dax of Laurel, Mississippi and Hunter James Ford of Oxford, Mississippi; one sister, Sue Breedlove of Natchitoches, Louisiana; one brother, Edward Calvin Breedlove, Jr. and his wife, Rita Kaye, also of Natchitoches, Louisiana, and their children, Kyle Edward Breedlove of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Adam Harris Breedlove and his wife, Jennifer, of Coushatta, Louisiana and their children, Cannon Harris Breedlove and Carter Glen Breedlove; and Rachel Hayden Breedlove and her daughter, Hayden Grace Sellers of Natchitoches, Louisiana. Active pallbearers will be Kyle Breedlove, Adam Breedlove, Hunter Ford, Jimmy DeBlieux, Roy DeLatte, Mark Sutton, Will Taylor, and Bill West. Honorary pallbearers are Jim Bob Key, Dwane Murphy, Waddy Norman, Reuben Roy, Joe Bienvenue, Kerlin Sutton, Carlton Commick, Kevin Ford Jones, and Eric Jones. The family wishes to extend heartfelt thanks to those who provided such loving care for JoAnn including, Leslie Mackey, Brenda Robinson, Brittany Morris, and especially Debra Kyle who gave seven years of service and friendship. JoAnn was passionate about life and totally loyal to her friends. She was free-spirited and always cheerful. In a nutshell, JoAnn was fun to be around. Her glass was always half-full and all of us felt a little better about ourselves and our problems when we were in her presence. JoAnn truly had a passion for music and shared her knowledge of it throughout her life. Her husband, Jimmy, was a highly gifted musician/performer and, together, they shared their wonderful gifts, endearing themselves to both their church and community. When Jimmy performed for college musicals, weddings, bank parties, etc., JoAnn often selected the music and quietly scouted out the musical scores. She was an enthusiastic member of a group called the "Lolly Gaggers" who brought music into the young children's classrooms in schools throughout the parish. JoAnn was a huge booster of her church, supporting it by leading "children's crafts" activities in Vacation Bible School, maintaining the music inventory in the choir room, and singing in the church choir throughout her life. JoAnn loved beautiful plants and shrubbery and both presented and planted the oleanders that are in back of the church parking lot today. She served as President of Chapter AP, PEO, and was a member of the Natchitoches Service League, having served on numerous committees and as President during the League's restoration of the Prudhomme-Rouquier House. She was also a member of the Natchitoches Historic Foundation and a devoted member of the City of Natchitoches Beautification Projects. Had JoAnn been on trial for loving people, there would have been ample evidence to convict her. The hospitality she showed others was genuine and it inspired the same in all those who received it. Her close friend Waddy Norman said, "JoAnn never really believed the gas gauge on an automobile. She loved water, whether it was a pool, the seashore, or a hot tub. And pine trees . . . JoAnn loved pine trees." Not everyone thinks about their epitaph. But JoAnn always wanted hers to read, "I was a lucky woman." We love and remember her for all she was to her husband, her children, her church, her community, and her countless friends. We already miss her effervescence and her zest for life. Truly, WE were the "lucky" ones. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Ford Memorial Music Scholarship at Northwestern State University or to the First United Methodist Church, Natchitoches, Louisiana.