Oliver Jackson Ford III was born on September 14th, 1939, in Shreveport, Louisiana. His father, Oliver Jackson Ford Jr., was a commercial artist, and his mother, Rena Lynch Ford, a math whiz and (ruthless) family Dominos champion. As a child, Oliver spent summers with his many cousins and aunts at Hilltop, the family homestead in Cherry Mound, Texas, which had no running water or electricity. His favorite stories included dodging chicken droppings on barefoot night-time treks to the outhouse; shooting, skinning and tanning the hides of chipmunks who raided their grandmother’s garden; and at age 9 being tasked with burying a cow that had entered rigor mortis from Frothy Bloat. The cousins successfully buried the top half of the ever-swelling cow, but its legs stubbornly stuck straight up out of the dirt, and they were forced to improvise.

Oliver served in the Marine Corps from 1958 to 1969, rising to the rank of captain and earning a Black Belt in Judo while stationed in Iwakuni, Japan. He graduated from Byrd High School in Shreveport and went on to earn multiple degrees: a B.A. and M.A. in English from Tulane University (1962; 1968), a BFT from the American Graduate School for International Management (1966), and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Connecticut (1975). At UConn, he studied under poet Charles Olson and contributed to editing Olson’s Maximus poems. He also played a key role in the 1969 Vietnam War protests that shut down the UConn Student Union.

Oliver’s academic career was distinguished and varied. He began as an English professor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and later held leadership roles including Dean of Humanities and Social Studies at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Academic Vice President at Fitchburg State College, Executive Director of Minnesota State University in Akita, Japan, Vice President for Academic Affairs at Chester College of New England, and President of Southwest State University in Minnesota. He was named an honorary relative of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe in recognition of his work to advance education for Indigenous communities. In retirement he served two terms in the New Hampshire State Legislature.

An avid hunter and outdoorsman, Oliver enjoyed exploring mountains, creek beds and forests on hunting and fishing trips across the country. Inspired by a childhood spent reading tales of great hunts, his life was punctuated by expeditions for elk in the mountains of Montana and Colorado, moose in the wilds of Maine, black bears in Nova Scotia and all varieties of deer wherever they could be found. A crack shot, he excelled at hunting ducks, turkeys and pheasants. He loved fly fishing, surf casting and deep-sea fishing. Sharing these experiences with his closest friends and family was a source of joy throughout his life.

A lifelong Episcopalian, Oliver is survived by his beloved wife of 49 years, Mary Jenkins Ford, his brother Ronald Ford (Judy), his children Ross Ford (Cassie) and Charlotte Ford (Jacob), and his grandchildren Ryland, Hudson, Eloise, Ruby and Sadie. He is predeceased by his sister Connie Ford Zaitchik (Mark), his mother Rena Lynch Ford, and his father Oliver Jackson Ford Jr.

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