Bessie Mae Stevenson Ford was born in San Augustine Texas to James Stevenson and Bessie Tyler Stevenson in 1927. A life-long Texan, she was born on the 1st day of May and played a bluebonnet at the Texas State Fair when she was 6 years old. Her love of Texas history was evident throughout her life.
Anytime we drove places throughout the state, she always told us about the exciting Texas history events that occurred there. Her Stevenson side brought the 1st Protestant Preacher to Texas at McMahon Chapel. She loved her East Texas ‘Piney Woods’ heritage and had red dirt coursing through her veins!
Even to the end, she would proclaim to anyone that asked here where she was from…. TEXAS! During WWII, she proudly worked at Ft.
Polk, LA. After the war, she married Herman Austin Ford, also from San Augustine Texas right after he returned from the war. They lived in Beaumont Texas for a while before making Orange Texas their permanent home.
She worked for Harms Marine Tugboat Company in Bridge City Texas as well as Hodge Boats and Motors in Orange Texas in the capacity of office manager/bookkeeper. She retired from Texas Marine at the age of 62. After retirement, she spent the next few years traveling with her beloved church group to many destinations around the country.
Bessie Mae was a life-long member of North Orange Baptist Church where she taught Sunday School for over 50 years. She touched the lives of many people through her service. She also was a very civic minded individual that wanted to make her community a better place.
After retirement, she became a member of the Golden Kiwanis Club of Orange and even served a term as the Lt. Governor of Golden Kiwanis of Texas. In the last year of her life, she would comment often about how much she loved Franklin Delano Roosevelt and remained devoted to the Democratic ideals that he embodied.
She had a love of music and nature and passed that along to her children. Survivors are two daughters, Janis Ford Heitz of Santa Fe New Mexico, Judy Ford of Tigard Oregon, two grandchildren, Jacqueline Centeno of Aurora Colorado and Jesse Ford of Lampasas Texas, three great-grandchildren, Austin Centeno of Aurora Colorado, Eli Ford of Lampasas Texas and Savannah Ford; and one sister, Nealy Moxam of the Cayman Islands. She is preceded in death by her spouse, Herman Ford, her son, James Ford, her parents, James and Bessie Stevenson, and her siblings Charles Stevenson, James Stevenson, Lynn Stevenson, Bernice Birdwell, & Barbara Whitehead.
The family would also like to acknowledge and thank Cheryl Ford, widow of Bessie’s son James Ford who was her caretaker for more than four years and kept her safe during Hurricane Harvey. This enabled her to stay in her home in her beloved Orange until the age of 90. We are grateful for your devotion to our dear mother.
We never know what we will be dealt in this life. Hurricane Harvey changed the lives of many in South East Texas, including Bessie. After losing her home, the decision was made to move her close to her daughter Judy to Tigard Oregon to live out the rest of her life.
Her strength and resilience during this difficult event was a testament to her character. After losing everything and being moved to another state, she was never bitter or angry about her circumstances. She was strong and positive to the end.
Please consider a donation to the Cajun Navy in our mother’s memory. She spoke fondly of how they rescued her and many others from Hurricane Harvey. Due to life circumstances and geographical distance of family members, a Memorial Service for Bessie Mae Ford in Texas will need to be planned for a later date to be determined in the future.
Her remains will be returned to Claybar Funeral Home in Orange Texas to be interred with Herman and James Ford at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Pinehurst Texas. Again, thank you to her church family for helping facilitate a wonderful celebration of her life for her 90th birthday in May of 2017. None of us knew that only a few months later, Hurricane Harvey would change the course of so many lives, calling for difficult, but often necessary decisions.
She was overjoyed that so many people came to her party and spoke fondly about it often. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Bessie Mae Stevenson Ford please visit our Sympathy Store.
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