Curtis B Ford

Curtis B Ford passed away on August 3, 2020 in Mill Valley, CA. He was 87 years old. Curt was a native of Massachusetts and a 50-year resident of Mill Valley. He graduated from Northborough High School in 1951. He attended Syracuse University’s School of Journalism and the University of Chicago Law School. Both universities were attended on full academic scholarships. Curt was a member of the bar in Massachusetts and Florida. He joined Northwestern Financial Network in Florida and during a 35-year career served as company officer and managing partner in San Francisco.

A lifelong student, Curt studied and traveled on six continents. He was a prolific writer and speaker, and his book “How to Establish an Estate Analysis Practice” was published in 1978. He held all the offices of the Society of Financial Service Professionals, including national president in 1976. Curt was one of six elected in 2011 by the National Association of Estate Planners and Councils to its estate planners Hall of Fame.

Curt Ford had 100% proven Irish smiling eyes. His mother Beatrice Mulvanerty was born in Drumshambo, Ireland and arrived at Ellis Island as a teenager; his father Alfred Ford had four Irish Famine-era immigrant grandparents.

Curt married Lia “Tiny” Wacholz in Chicago; their sons are Dan (Mary Holstege) of Cupertino and Curt Jr. (Dvera Hadden) of Mill Valley. Curt’s grandchildren are Eileen and Ian Ford-Holstege and Ellie, Will, and Brendon HaddenFord.

Curt is survived by his sisters Gail Duffy (Jim) and Dorcas Fisher (Warren) both of Phoenix; sister Beatrice Leary (Henry) and brothers Arthur “AJ” (Marion Day) and Max (Thelma Gardner) predeceased him. Curt’s extended family includes 21 nieces and nephews plus literally scores of their children and grandchildren, many of whom would gather at the periodic “Cousin Fests” Curt instigated in Mill Valley and Phoenix.