Ford, Thornton Morrow
Biography
Thornton Morrow (Tom) Ford was born in Seattle, Washington on Octover 10, 1925. He graduated from Roosevelt High in 1943 and went on to the US Naval Reserve. Upon finishing at the Naval Reserve in 1946, Ford enrolled at the Western Washington College of Education in 1949, where he obtained his B.A, followed shortly thereafter by his M.Ed. from the same institution in 1953. Finally, Doctor Ford obtained his Ed.D. from Washington State University in 1965. An avid lifelong learner, Doctor Ford also studied at the University of Washington from 1957-1958, and took classes at Columbia in 1978. Doctor Ford's professional life was also very active. He taught school at Sunnyside and Aberdeen Washington, and worked as an elementary and Junior High teacher in Ketchikan, Alaska. During this time in Alaska, Thornton Ford also served as the director of Ketchikan Community College before accepting his role as the director of Extended Education with the Tacoma Public Schools, and Planning Officer for the Tacoma Community College from 1961-64. In 1961, Doctor Ford was offered the Presidency of Tacoma Community College, a role he filled until 1974, when he left TCC to serve the Bremerton school district as the Superintendent. Married to Rose Mary, he had six children. Doctor Thornton Ford passed away at the age of 72 on Friday, January 17, 1997.
See also M.008, TCC Biographical files.
Found in 2 Collections and/or Records:
Ronald Magden collection
The collection contains informal interviews with prominent figures from the school's history as well as photographs, video, and audio recordings documenting the early years of the school.
Tacoma Community College Office of the President records
This collection consists primarily of manuscripts and records from Tacoma Community College's Office of the President, beginning in 1967 with the Thornton Ford administration, and continuing to the year 2014, when President Pamela J. Transue retired after 17 years of service to the institution and the surrounding community.