Josephine Clay Ford | |
---|---|
Born | July 7, 1923
Dearborn, Michigan, U.S. |
Died | June 1, 2005
Detroit, Michigan, U.S. | (aged 81)
Spouse |
Walter Buhl Ford II
(
m. 1943; died 1991) |
Children |
|
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
Josephine Clay Ford | |
---|---|
Born | July 7, 1923
Dearborn, Michigan, U.S. |
Died | June 1, 2005
Detroit, Michigan, U.S. | (aged 81)
Spouse |
Walter Buhl Ford II
(
m. 1943; died 1991) |
Children |
|
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]