Kent Murray Ford

*A celebration of life will be held 2-4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, at Para Project, 300 Portland Street, Suite 140, Columbia, MO 65201.

Kent Murray Ford, 78, passed away peacefully at home in Columbia, Missouri, on July 31, 2026, after a recent cancer diagnosis. He was born in Eldora, Iowa, on April 6, 1948, the son of Donna Joye Martin Ford and Harley Henry Ford. He was a student in the Eldora and Grundy Center, Iowa, schools until his family moved to Grinnell, Iowa, where he completed requirements for high school graduation. 

Prior to joining the Navy in November 1968, he attended Kansas City Metropolitan Junior College and Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg.  His years of service during the Vietnam War began with the basics at Great Lakes and training as an Aviation Fire Control Technician at Millington, Tennessee, prior to being stationed with squadron VA-146 at the Naval Air Base in Lemoore, California. His service included Blue Water deployments on two aircraft carriers, the USS America and the USS Constellation. He also spent a short time aboard the USS Albert David, a destroyer stationed off the coast of Vietnam. For this and other areas of service excellence he received several military awards and citations.  Between deployments, he was married in December 1970 to Sharon Kay Blankenship of Brookfield, Missouri. 

He was honorably discharged from the Navy as a Petty Officer Second Class in August 1972, and he and Sharon moved to Columbia for completion of his education at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, Class of 1974. His journalism career included employment with The Daily American Republic as a city reporter in Poplar Bluff and The Daily Nonpareil as city editor in Council Bluffs, Iowa, before he and Sharon purchased The Times Observer in Oregon, Missouri in 1981.  His responsibilities as editor and publisher of the county seat newspaper also included advertising sales, copy writing, and page layout. He weekly shared both his opinions and family news in a “Dear Mom” editorial. This usually included anecdotes about the Cub Scout troop he led, work with the local Jaycees chapter, or some interesting tidbit about life in a small rural community. Here he shared his love of journalism with local high school students and helped them create a monthly, full page “Knight Times” addition to the newspaper. 

While owning The Times Observer, he was a member of the Missouri Press Association and the Northwest Missouri Press Association, serving as Board president in 1987. In June of 1989 he sold The Times Observer and returned to Columbia with his family after accepting a position with the Missouri Press Association.  Here he served as the editor of the Missouri Press News magazine and the MPA Bulletin until his retirement in April of 2014. He was inducted into the Missouri Newspaper Hall of Fame in 2018. One of his final journalistic endeavors was the writing of his memoir, Boomer Tales: Adventures of a Part-Time Delinquent.

A lifelong Democrat, he cared deeply about his family, the environment, the communities he served, and people in general. He believed everyone has something they can contribute to the community where they live. In Columbia he volunteered with KidsFirst Optimist Club, Columbia Audubon Society, Tiger Quarterback Club, numerous Columbia Parks & Recreation programs, The Food Bank of Central and Northeast Missouri Volunteer Room and The Food Bank Market. He enjoyed goose and duck hunting on the Stewart family farm, fishing trips with his brothers and cousin Jim Stewart, camping and float trips with family on the Current and other south Missouri rivers, hiking and biking on local trails, retreats to the Lake of the Ozarks, reunions with his Navy buddy George, frequent rounds of golf with Mike, Bob and Monty, and the annual trip to Booches for burgers and a few games of pool with his work colleagues, Doug, Mike and Phil. For several years he participated in civil war reenactments with the Fifth Missouri Infantry which eventually gave him the opportunity to be an “extra” in the filming of the movie Gettysburg which opened in theaters in 1993. In retirement, he and Sharon enjoyed his numerous and meticulously planned road trips throughout the United States and several international excursions.

He is survived by his devoted wife and partner of 55 years; a son, Justin Ford (Tami); a daughter, Kathryn Ford Worzel (Greg); six grandchildren: Nate, Aleah and Karsen Worzel and Olivia, Isaac and Elias Ford; a brother, Scott Ford (Colette); four sisters, Candace Ford LeCroix, Karin Ford, Jackie Stewart Cowgill (Doug) and Valerie Stewart Sumner (Harold); and numerous nieces and nephews and their children. He was preceded in death by his parents and stepparents, Harley Henry Ford (LaVelle Bausman Ford) and Donna Joye Martin Ford Stewart (Charles Robert) and two brothers, Kim and Kevin. A private family burial has been held with a Celebration of Life being planned for this fall. 

Memorial contributions honoring Kent can be made to The Missouri Press Foundation at 802 Locust Street, Columbia, MO 65201 or KidsFirst Optimist Club at 1400 Forum Blvd., Suite 7A, PMB 442, Columbia, MO 65203-1997.