Velma Ford

A funeral for Velma Ford, 90, a long-time Yerington resident, will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Freitas Rupracht Funeral Home with the Rev. David Heath and the PEO Sisterhood Chapter O officiating.

Mrs. Ford died Sept. 11, 2004, at the South Lyon Medical Center in Yerington. She was born Dec. 22, 1913, in Reserve, Kan., to Ed and Bessie Fitzgerald. Her family moved to several places, finally settling in the Carson Valley in the late 1920s.

She attended Smith Valley High School then transferred to Yerington High School, from which she graduated in 1932. She attended business college in San Francisco then returned to Yerington, where she was employed by Linford Reily of the Yerington Telephone Co.

She married James Ford Jr. Sept. 5, 1937, in Ely. They returned to Yerington, where they ran the Rex Drug until 1978.

Her passion was the study of the history of Mason Valley and the Buckland Station area. In 1969, she was selected to write the Lyon County history section in the publication "Nevada: The Silver State." She also spoke to community organizations and schools on the history of Yerington and Mason Valley.

She was a member of the Pizen Annies, PEO, Eastern Star, Lyon County Museum, Friends of the Library and many bridge clubs. She was awarded the Yerington Volunteer of the Year. One of her great accomplishments was saving the old East Walker No. 9 schoolhouse from being demolished.

She strived to stay in shape both physically and mentally, and was 82 when she completed her last snow-skiing venture. She loved to travel.

She was preceded in death by her husband; brothers Bob, Carol and William; and brothers-in-law Paul and Donald Ford.

Among her survivors are her son and daughter-in-law, Jon and Vikki Anne of Gualala, Calif.; daughter and son-in-law, Kathy and Robert Brown of Round Rock, Texas; grandchildren Peggy Brown, Robin Brown, Joe Ford and Jamie Ford; great-grandchildren Mary-Kate Brown and Grady Brown of Round Rock; sister and brother-in-law, La Verda and Vince Pearson of Salt Lake City; and sisters-in-law Maxine Ford of Yerington and Ramona Fitzgerald of Winlock, Wash.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Lyon County Museum.

Burial will be in the family plot of the Valley View Cemetery.

Freitas Rupracht Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.