Jake Ford

?I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.? II Timothy 4:7
?We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.? II Corinthians 5:8

Dewey ?Jake? Clay Ford, 68, of Kingsport, went to be with the Lord Saturday, January 20, 2007 following a lengthy illness.

Jake was an ordained Baptist minister and retired from General Shale after 25 years of service.

He was preceded in death by sons, Ronald Ford and Mark Ford; his parents, Grady and Ethel Ford; and several sisters and brothers.

Surviving are his wife, Phyllis Ford, Kingsport; three daughters, Donna Stapleton and husband, John; Lisa Presley and husband, Howard; and Tina McNutt and husband, Jack, all of Kingsport; one son, Michael Ford and wife, Rita of Mount Carmel; eight grandchildren; one great-grandson; three sisters, Louise Yeary and husband, John of Bristol, Opal Cline , and Pauline Shephard, both of Church Hill; one brother, Walter ?Butch? Ford and wife, Martha of Mount Carmel; and several nieces and nephews.

The family will receive friends from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday at Hamlett-Dobson Funeral Home, Kingsport.

Services will follow at 7 p.m. Monday at the funeral home with Randy Barron officiating.

Graveside services will be conducted at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Mount Mitchell Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery. Family members and friends will serve as pallbearers.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Marsh Regional Blood Center, 914 Broad Street, Kingsport, TN 37660.