Josephine Clay Ford

American philanthropist
Walter Buhl Ford II
​
​
(m. 1943; died 1991)​
Children
  • Walter III
  • Nonie
  • Joey
  • Alfred
Parent(s)Edsel Ford
Eleanor Lowthian Clay

Josephine Clay "Dody" Ford (July 7, 1923 – June 1, 2005) was an American philanthropist and the only granddaughter of Henry Ford.[1]

Early life

Josephine was born in Dearborn, Michigan, on July 7, 1923. She was the only daughter and the third of child of Edsel Ford and his wife Eleanor Lowthian (née Clay) Ford.[1] Her siblings included Henry Ford II, who also served as chairman and CEO of Ford Motors, and William Clay Ford Sr.[2][3]

Her father was the only child of Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motors.[1][4]

Personal life

Van Gogh's Portrait of the Postman Joseph Roulin, donated by Ford to the Detroit Institute of Arts

In 1943, she married Walter Buhl Ford II (1920–1991),[5] not a relative, whose family were prominent in the chemical business in the downriver suburbs of Detroit. He was a descendant of the other prominent families of Detroit including the banking Fords, the Buhl family and Brush family.[5] Walter Ford was himself involved in interior and industrial design and was the chairman and chief executive of Ford & Earl Design Associates.[2] They lived in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, and together were the parents of two sons and two daughters:[1][6]

  • Walter Buhl Ford III (1943–2010)[7]
  • Eleanor Clay "Nonie" Ford Sullivan (b. 1946),[4][8] who was married to Frederic Avery Bourke Jr. in 1967.[9] Bourke is a part owner of Dooney & Bourke, the leather company.[10] They divorced and she remarried, to John Sullivan Jr., and lives at 960 Fifth Avenue in New York City.[11]
  • Josephine Clay "Joey" Ford Ingle (b. 1949),[4] who married John William Ingle Jr. in 1971.[12]
  • Alfred Brush Ford (b. 1950),[4] who joined the Hare Krishna movement and renamed himself Ambarish Das.[13]

Dody and her husband were also art collectors and owned paintings by Vincent van Gogh, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Pablo Picasso.[2] Walter died in 1991 of pancreatic cancer.[5] Dody died on June 1, 2005, at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.[1]

Philanthropy

In 2001, Time magazine estimated her net worth at approximately $416 million.[14] In 2005, at the time of her death, she owned more than 13 million shares of Ford Motor stocks.[15]

Josephine and Walter Ford were major contributors to the College for Creative Studies (a $20,000,000 donation in 1997)[16] and the Detroit Institute of Arts among other institutions.[13] Dody donated Van Gogh's Portrait of the Postman Joseph Roulin, which was valued at $40,000,000, to the Detroit Institute of Arts in 1996.[13][17] She also donated large amounts of money for cancer research leading to the formation of the Josephine Ford Cancer Center.[14]

See also

Sources

  1. ^ a b c d e "Josephine Clay Ford, 81, a Philanthropist, Dies". The New York Times. Associated Press. 3 June 2005. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  2. ^ a b c "Philanthropist, Heiress Josephine Clay Ford, 81". The Washington Post. 2 June 2005. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  3. ^ Martin, Douglas (9 March 2014). "William Clay Ford, Auto Family Scion and Detroit Lions Owner, Dies at 88". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d Mortimer, Jeff (June 16, 2003). "A simplified look at the Ford family tree". Automotive News. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  5. ^ a b c "Art patron Walter Buhl Ford II dead at 71". UPI. October 28, 1991. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  6. ^ Taylor III, Alex; Morrow, David J. (January 16, 1989). "FORDS FOR THE FUTURE The great-grandsons of Henry Ford -- Edsel II and William Clay Jr. -- want to run the family company. But CEO Donald Petersen has real doubts". Fortune. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  7. ^ "Great-grandson of Ford founder dies". Ford Inside News Community. February 23, 2010. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  8. ^ Muller, Joann (April 1, 2011). "Ford Family Shuffles Wealth". Forbes. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  9. ^ "Miss Eleanor Ford Married to Student". The New York Times. January 18, 1967. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  10. ^ Vardi, Nathan (November 10, 2009). "Founder Of Dooney & Bourke Gets Jail In Bribery Case". Forbes. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  11. ^ "Board approved: Who lives at 960 Fifth Avenue?". Luxury Listings NYC. 13 April 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  12. ^ Times, Special To the New York (27 June 1971). "Miss Joey Ford Wed to John Ingle Jr". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  13. ^ a b c Irwin, Jim (June 2, 2005). "Josephine Clay Ford, auto heiress, dies at 81". Daily Herald. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  14. ^ a b "Josephine Clay Ford, auto heiress, dies at 81". Lewiston Sun Journal. 2 June 2005. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  15. ^ Staff, Times; Reports, Wire (2 June 2005). "Josephine Clay Ford. 81; Auto Family Philanthropist". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  16. ^ Meredith, Robyn (21 December 1997). "A Ford Gives $20 Million to Detroit College of Art and Design". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  17. ^ Bradsher, Keith (29 March 2000). "ARTS IN AMERICA; A Detroit Museum on the Rebound With van Gogh". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 April 2018.

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