Paul W. Ford, age 88, of Hammond, WI, passed away the afternoon of Monday, March 9, 2020 at United Hospital in St. Paul, MN of supernatural causes. Born on July 1st, 1931, he came out of the womb talking with the doctors to let them know how they could have done it better. He was raised on a farm from the start; & helped his parents, Paul Sr. & Edna, as soon as he figured out the difference between a heifer & bull, (the hard way unfortunately). Much to his father’s chagrin, Paul was drafted into the United States Army, which he used as a good excuse to tour Europe. After his stint as a paid tourist, he returned to the States & decided to try his hand at earth moving. Paul helped build the St. Lawrence Seaway & parts of Interstate 94 running a scraper. Paul left construction & returned to the family farm in Hammond to help his dad. Paul met a woman by chance named Dolores Wight after she helped his sister return from Michigan. They fell in like & decided to irritate each other for a very long time & even made it all legal on November 6th, 1965 right there in Michigan. From there, the couple decided to make it worse & adopted a small boy named Steve. That worked out so poorly they decided to try again & adopted another child. This time they chose a girl, (only because they’re easier), & named her Susan. From that point forward, things got interesting. In 1960, he started a little company called Fire Extinguishing Equipment, which he ran & maintained for the next 58 years. Although Paul would certify fire extinguishers, most of his business calls were about catching up with friends & good customers; which spanned across eight counties! I think if he were here today to answer, Paul would say that he lived the life he wanted… Mainly because he did what he wanted. Whether working in the shed, plowing snow with his tractor, or rebuilding his Oliver, Paul loved every minute of it. Other folks’ opinions really didn’t come into play when he had an idea. Paul knew what he was doing, you just had to ask him & he’d tell you so. Paul worked hard; & he never really took vacations. Paul’s heart & love was always for his family; & when he was younger his passion was for the farm & then his business as he aged. He will be missed by many.

Paul is survived by his wife, Dolores; children, Steve (Amy) Ford of Hammond, Wisconsin, & Susan (Kelly McCormick) Ford of Beaver Dam, Wisconsin; grandkids, Ashton, Reuben, Nolan, Raelin, & Ryan; as well as his siblings, Eleanor, Milton, & Phyllis; & last, but not least of all, his favorite hellcat, Rascal. He is preceded in death by his parents, Paul Sr. & Edna; & sister, Marjorie.

A Funeral Service for Paul will take place at 5:00 P.M. Thursday, March 12th, 2020 at O’Connell Family Funeral Home, 1010 Newton St. Baldwin, WI 54002, with a Visitation preceding the service from 3:00-5:00 P.M. at the funeral home. Interment will occur at the Hammond Cemetery. Services entrusted to O’Connell Family Funeral Home, 715-684-3434. If you can come and offer up a story about Paul, you’re more than welcome to. To sum it up, he knew everyone; & there’s always a story to tell about him.