Ford LeBoutillier was on the phone with a close friend when she died of a heart attack at her home in Empire, Michigan on November 2, 2025. Her sudden death shocked and saddened her family and many friends. Born on June 27, 1950, to Felia Ford LeBoutillier and Philip LeBoutillier, Ford grew up in Perrysburg, Ohio and Hopetown, Abaco, Bahamas. Her maternal great grandfather was Edward Ford, founder of the Edward Ford Plate Glass Company, which became Libbey Owens Ford Glass Company (LOF), which later merged with Pilkington Glass. Her paternal grandfather was Philip “Skipper” LeBoutillier, CEO of Best & Company in New York for many years. She attended Maumee Valley Country Day School until she went to the White Mountain School in Littleton, New Hampshire. She returned to MVCDS, where she graduated in 1968. Ford’s highly creative abilities began to emerge when she worked at The Flower Shop where she began a lifelong love for floral design. She attended Boston University for a year and then returned to Ohio where she studied professional floral design in Cleveland.

Married in 1971, she and her husband moved to Atlanta, GA where they raised three children. She was a great Mom, active volunteer, and involved in the communities in which she lived. Ford was a member of All Saints Episcopal Church for many years; during that time, she was a member of St. Luke’s Women’s Guild and chaired the Altar Guild at; also, she served on the Vestry, taught Sunday School and, with her family, served meals to the homeless. Every year, the family went to Hopetown, her happy place. She worked at Minton’s Flowers before her children were born, opened “Just Loafin’” (an at-home baking business), and eventually started Ford’s Fancy. With a few other professional designer/friends, they were the premier floral designers in Buckhead for many years.

In 2000, she discovered Leland, Michigan and fell in love with the surrounding area. After moving a few times, Ford finally settled in her home in Maple City. In Leland, she was a member of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church for a time, volunteered for the Museum, and various other organizations. Her artistic talents were profound, and she loved working with children as they discovered pottery design. Her homes always reflected her values, and her unique interior design. Ford was, in fact, a celebration of life; she will be remembered as a fun-loving wife, mother and friend with an infectious laugh, great sense of humor, a gracious hostess, an intrepid traveler/hiker/kayaker, a skilled skier, and a peaceful homebody who loved the music of James Taylor, Bella Fleck, Peter, Paul & Mary, Lyle Lovett and his Large Band, and much more. Her love for her children, grandchildren, flowers, friends, the beach, and her dogs.

She is survived by her brothers (Philip “Boot” and George LeBoutillier), her three children (Winston and Charley Ford, and Grace Aldridge), seven grandchildren (August and Oscar Ford, Felia, Tripp, Liam, Emory, and Libby Gray Alridge), five nieces and nephews, seven great nieces and nephews and two sisters-in-law. She was preceded in death by both of her parents and one sister-in-law. She will be buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in Toledo, Ohio on her birthday, June 27. A private lunch to celebrate Ford’s life will follow the service. The family suggests that those wishing to make a contribution in Ford’s memory are encouraged to support All Saints Church in Atlanta allsaintsatlanta. org or any organization that supports art, children, dogs, or the beach.