Velma “MawMaw” Ford was born at home in Precinct 2, Fannin County, Texas, to Lloyd and Mary Lee Moore on August 20, 1943. She attended school in Savoy, Texas, and was an all-star, left-handed basketball extraordinaire who played Forward and was named Captain. She was awarded “best all-around, star athlete” more than once. Her jersey number was 22, so it seems fitting that she picked February 22, 2024, to exit her earthly body and meet back up with the love of her life, Thomas “PawPaw” Ford, at the pearly gates of heaven. We feel certain she sat in his lap, greeted him with a kiss, and got busy dancing on the streets of gold.

Velma married Thomas Larkin “PawPaw” Ford, her forever love, on September 1, 1962, at Parker Grove Baptist Church in Ravenna, Texas. Velma freely admitted Tom won her over with his good looks, sweet talk, and amazing kissing skills, but based on the note he wrote in her yearbook very early into their courtship, he found her to be “a very nice girl, sweet and lovable, with a charming personality.” We’re pretty sure that beautiful smile and those gorgeous dimples didn’t hurt either!

After their marriage, they moved to Houston, Texas, where Velma worked at Lennox HVAC until they moved back to Bells, Texas. Tom and Velma then moved to Ft. Worth, Texas, where she worked at a printing company before settling back into their small-town roots in Savoy, Texas. Velma worked at Oscar Mayer for 22 years until they closed, and she took an early retirement package at the young age of 55.

Once Velma retired from her corporate job, she and Tom had more time to travel all over the US and up to the Canadian border with friends. If you ever wanted to see her competitive side shine, you could just sit in on a game of 42 with her! She thoroughly enjoyed a good “sister trip,” which sometimes included her favorite nieces – they were all her favorite! We can’t really say too much about those trips because, you know, what happens on a sister trip stays on a sister trip!

Above all else, Velma’s greatest gift and joy in life was loving her husband, boys, and extended family and being the best MawMaw to all of her grandkids and great-grandkids. You would never know there were bonus kids who weren’t blood-related. She loved them all to the core, and they felt it. Spending time with her family was her favorite hobby.

She was always present. If there was an event, a game, a party, a play, a wedding – she was there. If the grandkids came over and wanted cookies, coconut pie, or chocolate pie, she made it happen – every bit of it. She made the smoothest mashed potatoes and the best pecan pie on earth, but that was usually a request from the grown-up kids.

MawMaw loved reading to and playing Skip-Bo, Uno, Wahoo, and Go Fish with her grandkids and would pretend not to see them cheating if it meant they would win. If a coloring book session was in order, she’d sit on the floor and color with the youngest of them. If the grandkids wanted to go to town to rent a movie, it was never too late, and she was never too busy. If they wanted a cousin sleepover, MawMaw gladly hosted it with a healthy snack of apple slices to end the night. No matter how old she got, she would never say no to a good ol’ game of basketball.

Her smile was infectious; thankfully, the gene for those beautiful dimples continues to be passed down to her great-grandchildren.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Lloyd & Mary Lee Moore; husband, Thomas Larkin Ford; her son, Brian Larkin Ford; sisters: Frankie Ann Osborne, Geneva “Sis” Hunt, Ruby Mae Malone, Yvonne McGehee; brothers: Everett Hayden Moore, Harold Lloyd “Bud” Moore, Melvin Moore, and Tony Lee Moore.

Velma is survived by her beloved sons: Stephen Ford and wife, Shannon; Jason Ford and wife, Tammy; grandchildren: Tylor Ford and wife, Kasey, Todd Ford, Maci Legg and husband, Tanner; Morgan Maloy and husband, Ethan; Kailen Ford, Shannon Winkler and husband, Cory, Mack Pickle and wife Destiny; great-grandchildren: Anson, Axel, Brody, Flora, Jordyn, Margo, Olivia, Remy, and Scarlett; sisters: Mary Kay Underwood and husband, Jackie, Joan Bell; half-sister Dorothy Ball; and a multitude of nieces and nephews too many to name, but so very loved by her.

Thanks to the Texoma Health Care Center staff for making her feel welcome. Special thanks to Hospice Plus in Sherman, Texas, for their help and support over the past year, and an extra special shout out to Danita for her tender loving care right up until the very end and to Victoria for loving on her and dancing with her. You brought her so much joy every single week! In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you please make donations to the Alzheimer’s Association (alz.org) and help find a cure for this devastating disease.