The Newtown bee., 1908-04-03
Washington
DR WILLIAM J. FORD.

LIT WlllldU J. TOTu, WHo uIoppCu ol suddenly at Washington in Litchfeld county, Friday. was the sort of man whom to know is to love. He was the ideal country doctor. Skilled in his profession, anxious to relieve suffer- ing, modest and gentle as child, he had a winning personality. He was the friend of the whole community; the whole community was friend to him. He radiated hope, good cheer. sunshine. He believed in the helpful hand the kindly smile, the pleasant word. Throughout the wide territory in which he ministered Dr Ford was known by all and welcomed by every body. In rare degree he won and held the confidence of the people among whom he moved. Not sordld and narrow, but unselfish, broad and useful was the life he lived. Born in the town in which he lived and died. he was familiar figure in the village and on the country roads, and he knew his Washington thoroughly. He was a close friend of the late Senator Orville H. Platt. and when the eminent states man spent his summers in the town of Washington it was his regular habit to get into Dr Ford's carriage and drive with the doctor on his professional rounds. The companionship of the two men was intimate and mutually stimulating. Dr Ford loved books and folks and Connecticut. Not a seeker of public office, he was not the type of man to refuse to respond to civic call. In 1903 he ably represented his town in the house of representatives. From 1903 to 1905 he served on the state reformatory commission with dis tinction, and he took deep and abid- ing interest in the perplexing problems which that body was trying to help solve. He held other positions of pub lie honor. Dr Ford stood for the high and enduring things of life. The tinsel and the glamor did not attract him. He had no use for sham or cant or dross. Service and friendship were the key notes of his career. The summary end ing of his rich and useful life, in obedi- enec to summons which no man may disregard or evade, will carry sorrow to many hearts and grief into many homes. Hartford Times. &, IMPR ESSIVE FUNERAL OF DR
 v FORD. /
 The great out-pouring of people at the funeral of the late Dr William J. Ford. at the Congregational church, Tuesday, at p. m., was notable trl- bute to the worth of this beloved phy- sician. The church was crowded. even the galleries being filled. In the gal lery at the right of the organ sat the young ladies and faculty of the Wyck- ham Rise school, where Dr Ford was the visiting physician. The impressive service opened with the reading Of sen. tences of Scripture, followed by the singing of the hymn by choir of 70 voices "For all the saints that from their labor rest" Rev Mr Carter then read from Ecclesiasticus, the chap ter on "The Good Physician, and verses from Scripture touching on mortality. The choir then sang, "The Sands of Time are Sinking, "Rev MT Turner, form CT pastor of the church. and now con nected with Hampton university, led m prayer. The choir then rendered the hymn, Jerusalem, the Golden: The service ended, the company took thelr departure for the cemetery. the body being carried in an open wagon, coV- cred with evergreen boughs. At the grave, Rev Messrs Carter and Turner and Rev T. M. Peck, the Epis opal rec tor. conducted the committal services; The floral tributes were beautiful and elaborate, including beautiful wreaths and floral pieces. It was the most elaborate display of flowers seen at a funeral in this town in years. ..5s
 At the funeral from out of town there were present MT and Mrs E. h.. Van Ingen, Misses Annie and Loulse Van Ingen, MT and Mrs R. l.. Barnes, Hamilton Gibson. Mir and Mrs E. K. Rossiter, Mir Wellington and Miss Ruth Wellington, Mrs Dr Mclean, Cornelius B. Gold. Miss Catherine Gold. Victor, McCutcheon, Miss Van Dyke, Mrs
 John Hunt, Frank Heath, and J. F. Halstead of New York.
 Mrs o. H. Platt of Washington, D. C.
 Mir and Mrs Belden B. Brown of Stamford. w
 H. Wales Lines and John w. Coe of