Richard “Dick” L. Ford
Richard “Dick” Lee Ford went to be with the Lord on Jan. 10. Richard was born to Daryl and Selma Ford in Rensselaer in August of 1945. Richard was the last living member of his nuclear family, with both his parents and his brother, Michael, preceding his death.
In 1969, he met the love of his life, Helen, on a blind date and both knew instantly they were meant to be best friends for life. They married in 1970 in Riverside, California and enjoyed 56 years of marriage. They have three daughters – Jan Dalton [Dave, Lafayette], Jenny Lakosky [Ross, Francesville] and Sarah Franiak [Nick, Waxhaw, North Carolina]; and had seven grandchildren (Mark, Robert, Mason, Ashton, Ethaen, Logan and Brook); and 10 great-grandchildren. Richard was an avid hunter, fisher and golfer and enjoyed sharing his joy of the outdoors, hobbies and skills with his children, grandchildren and friends.
Dick was an active member of Scouting in his youth, achieving his Eagle Scout Rank by age of 15. After graduating from Rensselaer High School in 1963, he signed up for the Army, serving in the Vietnam War where he utilized his talent with computer systems in the Intelligence Division. After finishing his deployment, he completed his degree in Computer Systems from Los Angeles University in 1970 and moved back to Indiana, following in the footsteps of his father serving on several police forces. Richard was an excellent marksman, winning a multitude of shooting events and matches. Going back to his roots in computer systems, he worked in IT for the Westville Indiana Correction Facility for 27 years. Dick had a strong work ethic, often working two jobs to ensure he provided for his family.
Dick fully retired in 2015, where he focused on attending every sporting/scouting/school event of his grandchildren, improving his golf game and ensuring he watched every episode of NCIS, CSI, Walker-Texas Ranger and other crime series. Both him and Helen heavily participated in supporting the Disabled American Veteran (DAV) program, where they actively supported fundraising and legislative efforts to further support programs for our disabled service members.
Dick was always known for going out of his way to thank a fellow service member, his witty phrases and sayings and his deadpan humor.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Helen Ford’s Quilts of Valor GoFundMe (Honoring Richard Ford with Quilts of Valor). Helen has handmade quilts for our veterans for over 12 years. One hundred percent of the funds will go to funding the material for Helen to continue making these for our veterans. Any additional funds will be donated to the Independence Fund, in honor of Richard to assist other war veterans.
(Pulaski County Journal — Jan. 28, 2026)