Barbara Jane Ford, born March 25, 1966 to Gerald Edward Strong Sr. and Patricia Jane Strong, at Tyndall Airforce Base in Panama City, Florida. She passed away on May 13, 2020 at Clay County Hospital in Ashland, Alabama after a long battle with lung cancer.
She grew up in Buffalo, New York and later moved back to Panama City, then eventually to various places in Alabama, finally settling in Lineville. She was no stranger to health problems. At the age of about two years old she had kidney disease. She spent a lot of her childhood in and out of hospitals and finally at 17, Thanksgiving Day, she received the call for a kidney transplant. She was so proud to have the honor to receive the kidney and it served her well until her recent untimely death. She often joked about being a bionic woman because of the transplant, and a hip replacement, and various other surgeries. But she never let those things limit her. She stayed positive. Even when she was diagnosed in 2018 with lung cancer, she faced it head on and was determined to live her life, her way, without letting the diagnosis confine her. She fought a hard battle with dignity and she never lost her sense of humor.
She was a beloved mother to her two children, Sarah Ford and Christopher Strong. She loved her crosswords and diet pepsi. She always believed in being herself and always tried to make people smile. She was funny, outgoing, and made a friend or two anywhere she went.
Catholic by faith, Barbara attended various Catholic churches over the years and held tightly to her beliefs.
She had 9 grandchildren (Morgan Short, Christina Gann, Erin Gann, Emily Gann, Benjamin Gann Jr, Justin Strong, Emma Strong, Cassidy Strong, and Kelsey Strong) that she loved with all her heart, and one granddaughter due to be born later this year.
Barbara is survived by two brothers: Stephen Edward Strong of GA, Gerald Edward Strong Jr (JJ) of Lineville, Alabama; husband Phillip Ford of Buffalo, Ny; daughter Sarah Lynn Ford of Woodland, Alabama; son Christopher Michael Strong, of Tennessee; eight grandchildren with one granddaughter on the way; beloved aunts on her mother's side: Diane (Bill predeceased) Baker, Lucy (Mike) Logue, Carol (Denny) Fuller, Kathy (John) Carney, Jenni (Steve Burrows) Kline; two nieces: Brandy Strong, Erica Murphy; one nephew Steven Strong; and several cousins and friends.
She is preceded in death by her grandparents Earl Kline, Patricia Maybee; beloved parents Gerald Edward Strong Sr. and Patricia Jane Strong; two cousins: Samuel Logue, Justin Burrows; one grandson Justin Strong; and longtime companion Kenneth Dykes.
Her children will have a private celebration of her life at a later date.