The remarkable and varied career of Brother Timothy James Ford, FSC, has drawn to a close. He died at the Holy Family Community in Mont La Salle, Napa, on January 27, 2008, at the age of 81.
Born James Francis Edward Ford in New York City on May 11, 1926, to John Ford and Lillian Fitzgerald, Brother Timothy was a member of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools for 62 years. He earned master’s degrees in biology, education, and theology, and he taught in numerous Lasallian schools on both coasts and in foreign lands.

Brother Timothy began his association with the De La Salle Christian Brothers as a student at Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in Brooklyn New York, and then as a junior novice in St. Joseph’s, Barrytown. He entered the novitiate in June 1946, and received the habit of the Brothers in September. He made final vows in May 1952 at Oakdale, New York. Brother Timothy was a member of the New York District, then a founding member of the Long Island-New England District. In 1969 he came to the District of San Francisco to teach at La Salle High School in Pasadena, and in 1970 his transfer to the San Francisco District was finalized.

Brother Timothy did his undergraduate studies at Manhattan College in the Bronx, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in 1951. He continued to pursue his varied interests, earning three master’s degrees: an M.S. in biology at Fordham University in 1959; an M.A. in science education at New York University in 1969; and an M.A. in scripture/theology at St. Benedict, Oregon, in 1979. As a professor at Bethlehem University from 1978 to 1982, he championed the rights of the Palestinians. This earned him the ire of the Israeli government, and he was ordered to leave the country within twenty-four hours. In 1983 he began four years as a professor in the Extended Education Program at Saint Mary’s College of California in Moraga.

In 1988 he went to Cuernavaca, Mexico, to study Spanish so that he could teach in the free school operated by the Brothers of the San Francisco District and the District of Mexico-North in Tijuana, Mexico. He taught various courses there until retiring to the De La Salle House, Berkeley, California, in 2001. In 2004 Brother Timothy moved to the Holy Family Community in Napa so that his health needs could be addressed.

It was at Mont La Salle that Brother Timothy was interviewed by Brother Brendan Kneale for the “oral history” of his life and vocation. Below is the conclusion of those interviews:

Question: The last question that I always ask in these interviews is whether you have accumulated advice for younger Brothers.

Brother Timothy Ford: I am reminded of when I was first sent “out to community” to St. Augustine’s in New York City. There was a Brother there named Paul Greeney.  We called him Paulie, and he was a very gentle man as well as learned. He was the first Brother ever to receive a Fulbright scholarship to attend the Sorbonne. He was no piker when it came to studies, and he was in many ways my idea of a real Christian Brother: a real religious -- hardworking, intelligent, dedicated, and at the same time exhibiting a very simple faith.

He had a profound influence on me.  He would come to my door on a Sunday afternoon and say that we had to go for a walk—which meant we’d take the subway to the Staten Island Ferry, ride it and return, go over to the waterfront, walk along there, and finally sit on a bench and talk.  He told me one time, “You’re too serious. It’s not your job to save the world—that’s God’s job. You are only a helper. Don’t take things too seriously.” This surprised me, coming from one of the most dedicated Brothers I ever met.  Anyway, he was what we would now call my mentor. Today we speak…of an equivalent “accompaniment” for young Brothers. It’s mostly a form of encouragement and support for aspirants and young Brothers. Today there is even more need for this and for gentleness and caring concern. My final advice, especially for us older Brothers, is to continue to pray for vocations.

Brother Timothy Ford is survived by three nieces and one grandnephew: Marie and Steven Corte and their son, Steven, of Westbury, New York; Dr. Lillian Ford, of Geneva, New York; and Kathleen and Thomas Lang, of Franklin Square, New York. He lives on in the memory of many friends and former students.

Funeral services are Saturday, February 2, at Mont La Salle Chapel in Napa, with a viewing at 9 a.m. followed by the funeral liturgy at 10 a.m., and burial in the cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Lasallian Education Fund, De La Salle Institute, 4401 Redwood Road, Napa CA 94558.