Local horticulture educator at Penn State Extension dies at 63
Ford had taught for 41 years, including 31 with university
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The agriculture community is mourning the loss of the only horticulture educator in the immediate area.
Thomas G. Ford, 63, of Duncansville, died Tuesday at UPMC Altoona.
Ford was a commercial horticulture educator for 41 years, most recently at Penn State Extension for the last 31 years.
"Tom was the expert on horticulture and was a great resource to the vegetable and fruit growing industry here in Blair County as well as the western part of the state," said Joe Diamond, Pennsylvania Farm Bureau regional organization director.
Tom Butzler, a horticulture extension educator based in Clinton County, had worked with Ford for more than 20 years developing and delivering programs.
They traveled to many meetings to give presentations.
"It was always tough following Tom because he was really good. He had a memory, almost like it was photographic, when he read something it was there forever," Butzler said. "At question answer sessions, Tom would answer the questions with facts and figures and reach the recesses of his brain to pull things out."
Butzler said Ford did lots of field visits, jumping from farm to farm to farm.
"He would go out into the fields all summer long helping growers to solve their problems. Growers really liked him," Butzler said.
As an extension educator, Ford was a mentor to new people.
"He was well respected by the administration. He was selected because he knew the system and how to work with people. He had incredible knowledge and decades of experience. He was highly sought after for being a mentor," Butzler said.
Jim Benshoff, owner of Benshoff Farms, New Germany, said Ford was a good friend.
"Tom was very knowledgeable about anything in his field. I told him he should have someone shadow him to pass on the knowledge to someone else. In my career, he was the best extension agent I ever dealt with. He was not just a very good agent but a good friend," Benshoff said.
Laverne Nolt, president of the Blair County Farm Bureau, called Ford "a walking encyclopedia when it came to plants."
"I had been working with him for about 20 years. If you had a problem you would call him and he would point you in the right direction. If you had an issue he would pull the answer off the top of his head," Nolt said.
Gary Long, former Blair County Farm Bureau president, said Ford was a very caring person.
"If you had an issue with your garden or crops, he was very knowledgeable, and if he didn't have the answer, he would get the answer for you. He was very well known throughout the agriculture community ... when he spoke people listened," Long said.
Friends will be received from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Dec. 9, at Sorge Funeral Home & Crematory Inc., Hollidaysburg, where a funeral service will immediately follow at noon. Private committal will be at Grandview Cemetery.
Mirror Staff Writer Walt Frank is at 814-946-7467.