Jacqueline "Jackie" Caroline Riffle Ford

On December 21, 2022, Jackie went into the loving arms of her Lord and Savior, Jesus. She gets to celebrate Christmas with the one whom the season is all about. To be absent from this earthly body is to be present with the Lord, II Cor 5:8.

Born in Honolulu, Hawaii on August 31, 1935 to the late Jack W. And Margaret C. Riffle, she was the oldest of 4 children. The family moved to the mainland when she was 5 years old. She was raised in the Winter Garden area all of her life. There, at Winter Garden Church of God she met Air Force Airman Ellis H. Ford. They married on June 4, 1954. They moved to Alabama where they pastored for many years. They have two sons, Stephen Paul Ford and Ellis Russell Ford. They eventually moved back to Florida to pastor and she made a career with Sun Bank where she retired in 2000. They chose to move back to Alabama to live out their retirement years. They made a beautiful life together. Mother always had a deep love for Hawaii and they shared many amazing trips there over the years, along with many other travels. They loved being able to travel with family and their best friends James (Carol) and Betty Bandy. She loved to collect antiques. She loved the days of old and what it meant to her.

She loved the Lord and her family with all her being. She was always faithful to the call of ministry placed on her life as a pastors wife, and especially loved children’s ministry.

Our mom was a courageous woman in many ways. She even went parasailing with her granddaughter at the age of 65. She was always a person who looked at things with a positive attitude. She would always laugh a lot and especially loved a good story about the kid’s adventures. She would always tell them the truth even if they didn’t want to hear it, especially about the truth of God’s word. She prayed for her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and all her family continually.

Mom was preceded in death by her husband, Ellis Ford, her parents and her three siblings, Leroy Riffle, Shirley Cobia, and Irvin Riffle.

Those left to cherish her memory include her sons Steve Ford (fiancé Denise Kurfiss) and Russell Ford (Jackie); grandchildren, Shae Ford (Ashley), Lindsey Ford, and Crystal Ford; great grandchildren, Ellis, Stephen, Riley, Maddie, Michaela, and Austin; and Angie Gunn, who momma loved like a daughter.

The family will receive friends at Baldwin Fairchild Funeral Home in Winter Garden, FL on Monday, December 26th from 4-6 pm est with a celebration service at 6 pm est. Jackie will be returned to Anniston Alabama, where the family will receive friends at Chapel Hill Funeral Home on Thursday, December 29th from 11 am-1 pm cst followed by a graveside service at 1:30 pm cst at Edgemont Cemetery.

Steve and Russell want to express many thanks to Jackie Ford, Ashley Ford, Denise Kurfiss, and Angie Gunn for making sure that mom was taken care of with excellence during the last years. They are our heroes.