Kathleen DuRoss Ford

Kathleen DuRoss Ford, the widow of Henry Ford II, has died. DuRoss Ford's sister, Sharon Amluxen, of Grosse Pointe Shores, confirmed the news to the Free Press Saturday May 9 2020. DuRoss Ford's health had been an issue in recent years and her care had been the subject of a court fight, but it was not clear what caused her death Friday. She had been transported to a hospital in Pittsburgh. DuRoss Ford, 80, was a former model from Detroit whose father had been a factory worker. She married Henry Ford II, the grandson of Henry Ford and a giant in automotive history in his own right, in 1980. It was her second marriage — her first husband died in a car crash returning from band practice — and his third. Henry Ford II, who was also known as Hank the Deuce, led Ford as CEO and president and was credited with reviving the company's fortunes. After Ford II's death from pneumonia in 1987, DuRoss Ford was engaged in a public fight over the fate of the estate, then estimated at $350 million, which eventually settled, providing her an annual allowance worth millions. Amluxen said her sister, who was born in Belding, Mich., in 1940, had been a talented photographer and in her youth, a violinist. Comedian and actress Lily Tomlin told the Free Press last year that she had known DuRoss Ford since they were teenagers in Detroit. DuRoss Ford put her Grosse Pointe Farms mansion on the market in 2001 and called Palm Beach, Florida, home for years, although she also spent regular time in England. In recent years, DuRoss Ford had been caught in the middle of an ugly court battle between attorney Frank Chopin, who was her caretaker, and her daughters, Kimberly DuRoss and Deborah DuRoss Guibord. The daughters, along with a number of friends and relatives, said he was abusive, controlling and had cut them out of her life, and they had sought to remove him. Chopin's side said the dispute was about money. A judge in Florida ruled in Chopin's favor in March of this year.