William Clay Ford Sr.

Biography

Born on March 14, 1925, in Detroit, Michigan to Edsel Ford and Eleanor Lowthian Clay, Ford served in the U.S. Navy Air Corps during World War II. Following the war, Ford married Martha Parke Firestone, the granddaughter of Harvey Firestone and Idabelle Smith Firestone, on June 21, 1947. They had four children together: Martha Parke Morse (b. 1948); Sheila Firestone Hamp (b. 1951); William Clay Ford Jr. (b. 1957); and Elizabeth Hudson Ford (b. 1961). William first met Martha at a lunch in New York arranged and attended by both of their mothers, according to the biography The Fords. Martha then was a Vassar student who had the college nickname “Stoney.” William was a naval cadet at St. Mary's U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School .They married on June 21, 1947 at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Akron, Ohio. By that time both families had acquired considerable wealth, and the matchup between the grandchildren of two empire-builders was reported by numerous news outlets. The Akron Beacon Journal called the Firestone-Ford nuptials “the biggest society wedding in Akron’s history” and “the biggest show Akron has seen in years” in numerous articles chronicling the event. The couple received gifts from F.B.I. Director J. Edgar Hoover, media publisher John S. Knight, and Mina Miller Edison.

The couple had four children: Martha Parke Morse (b. 1948), Sheila Firestone Hamp (b. 1951), William Clay Ford, Jr. (b. 1957), and Elizabeth Ford Kontulis (b. 1961). Her son William was as of 2015 the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ford Motor Company. He had previously been the Chief Executive Officerand Chief Operating Officer of Ford. William also serves as Vice Chairman of the Detroit Lions.

The Fords have 14 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren.

In 1948, a year after Henry Ford's death, Ford was appointed to Ford Motor Company's board of directors. Ford graduated from the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut in 1943 and received a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Yale University in 1949; he was a member of the Psi Upsilon fraternity, captain of the soccer and tennis teams, an honorable mention all American selection in soccer senior year, and winner of 7 varsity letters as a collegiate athlete.

After graduating, Ford worked for the Ford Motor Company, and briefly led the Continental Division. The Continental Division, however, was short-lived and merged with the Lincoln Motor Company shortly before Ford's public stock offering. Ford redesigned the Lincoln Continental, a vehicle his father created; in 1955, the Continental Mark II was released. Only two pictures adorned his office wall, his father's Continental and his updated Mark II.

Ford was chairman of the board at the Henry Ford Museum, from 1951 to 1983. He was also involved in other historic properties, serving on the boards of the Wayside Inn and Seaboard Properties, which managed the Dearborn Inn and Botsford Inn.

On April 10, 1952, an iron ore-hauling ship, the SS William Clay Ford, was named in honor of him.

On November 22, 1963, Ford purchased a controlling interest in the Detroit Lions of the National Football League, from Edwin Anderson and Lyle Fife for $4.5 million. He was also chairman of the short-lived Detroit Cougars, a professional soccer team, which played in the USA and NASL leagues.

He was Ford Motor Company's Design Committee chairman for 32 years, from 1957 to 1989. He served on the board of directors for 57 years, retiring on May 12, 2005, including being chairman of the Finance Committee. His son, William Clay Ford Jr., was Ford Motor Company's CEO at the time.

According to the Forbes magazine, Ford was the 371st richest person in the United States in 2013, with an approximate net worth of $1.4 billion. Ford reportedly owned in Ford Motor Company: 6.7 million shares of Class B stock and 26.3 million common shares; in other words, Ford was the largest single shareholder.

Ford died of pneumonia, five days before his 89th birthday, at his home in Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan, on March 9, 2014. He was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, Detroit.