Joseph C. Ford III, 65, of Akron, Ohio passed on into eternity after an extended illness on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023, at Summa Health System - Akron Campus.

Joseph was born May 5, 1957, in Akron, Ohio, the son of the late Rev. Dr. Joseph C. & Dorothy L Ford Jr.  It was his mother who introduced him to music, and he took piano lessons and played the piano / keyboard for various churches for years.  He was a 1975 graduate of Akron Buchtel High School where he was a member of the wrestling team.  Also, he was a graduate of the Univ. of Akron and was a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.  He later became involved in playing basketball on a variety of teams when he could.

A former employee for Allstate Insurance for 26 years (Computer Programming dept), First Merit Bank for 5 years (IT dept) and more recently The Blick Center (Transportation / Day Program Interventionist) for 4 years. He started his Christian walk at Mt. Calvary Baptist Church (Akron, Ohio) during the time when his father was the pastor.  More recently, he attended Christ Community Chapel (Hudson, Ohio).

Joseph's memories will be cherished & remembered by his maternal cousin, Jacqueline (Clifton) Olivier of McDonough, GA, his lifelong school friends, his co-workers and especially by his fiancée, Tina S. Milner of Warren, Ohio who he knew for 15 yrs.

He was preceded in death by his parents, three brothers who all died at infancy, a paternal aunt, paternal uncle & two maternal aunts.

A "celebration of Joseph's life" will be held on Sunday, March 12th, 2023 from 1 to 4pm at Alpha Phi Alpha Homes, Inc. (The Alpha Center), 662 Wolf Ledges Pkwy, Akron, Ohio 44311.  Please email Tina S. Milner if you would like to help with the event: tsmilner63@gmail.com .