William Clay Ford

The youngest of Edsel and Eleanor Clay Ford's four children, William Clay Ford was born on March 14, 1925. Following a tour of duty with the U.S. Naval Air Corps in World War II, he enrolled at Yale, where he was an accomplished athlete. After graduating from Yale with a bachelor of science degree in economics, Mr. Ford joined Ford Motor Company’s sales and advertising staff. He later served on the industrial relations staff, where he was a member of the committee that negotiated the historic 1949 contract with the UAW-CIO. When the design committee of the company’s policy and strategy committee was formed in 1957, Mr. Ford became the committee’s first chairman, a post he held until retirement in 1989. Throughout his career he oversaw the design and development of a number of classic vehicles, including the Continental Mark II, considered by many to be one of the greatest cars ever built. He was appointed vice president–Product Design in 1973. In 1978, Mr. Ford was elected chairman of the executive committee and appointed a member of the office of the chief executive. He was elected vice chairman of the board in 1980 and chairman of the finance committee in 1987. He retired from his post as vice chairman in 1989 and as chairman of the finance committee in 1995. His survivors include his wife of 66 years, Martha Firestone Ford, granddaughter of Harvey Firestone. Harvey Firestone was the founder of the Firestone tire company and a good friend of the first Henry Ford. In addition to his wife and William Jr., Ford is survived by his daughters Martha Ford Morse, Sheila Ford Hamp and Elizabeth Ford Kontulis; 14 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. William’s brother Benson died in 1978 and his brother Henry II in 1987. His sister, Josephine Clay Ford, died in 2005.