Growing up working alongside his mother and father, and living above the funeral home with them, Bob was a 1978 graduate of Hunterdon Central Regional High School. Following in his father's footsteps with the desire to serve his community, he enrolled immediately after graduation in the Funeral Service Education Program at Mercer County Community College.
In 1981, he successfully completed his three year apprenticeship and course of studies, earning an Associates in Applied Science Degree and his Funeral Service Education Certificate. Soon after, upon passing the requisite national examination and both the New Jersey State Mortuary Practical examination and the New Jersey State Mortuary Law examination, Bob earned his funeral directors license, #3578.
Bob is a parishioner of St. Magdalen Church in Flemington, formerly serving as a Eucharistic Minister, as well as participating on the church’s technology board. He is also a member of Jubilee Council #3294, Knights of Columbus, Flemington, NJ; a member of the New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association; a member of the National Funeral Directors Association; a member of the Mercer County Funeral Directors Association; and a past member of the Flemington Raritan First-Aid & Rescue Squad (Station 49 Rescue), where, as a teenager, he would meet his future wife, Laurie Lacik.
Formerly living above the funeral home themselves for many years, Bob, Laurie and their two children moved into Laurie's childhood home in Raritan Township near Barley Sheaf Elementary School about twenty years ago to help take care of Laurie's aging father, Walter, after her mother, Katherine, died in 1998. Walter was well known in the community, serving as a special police officer with the Flemington Borough Police Department for over thirty years. He also served for more than twenty years as court officer for both the Flemington Borough Municipal Court and the Raritan Township Municipal Court and served as a sheriff's officer for Hunterdon County.
Upon his death in 2000, Laurie and Bob purchased the home where they then raised their children, both of whom would go on to graduate from Hunterdon Central Regional High School like their parents.
Their daughter, Heather Ford, living at home, works nearby in Princeton, NJ and their son, Lt. Robert L. Ford III, is currently serving in the United States Navy and based in Syracuse, NY, where he serves as a Contract Administrator for defense contracts. He was formerly stationed for many years in Seattle, WA, where he was the supply officer for a nuclear submarine, the USS Connecticut. Bob and Laurie are also proud dog parents of "Maxwell" and "Mia".
Bob and his mother, the late Janet Lasenick Ford, were very excited when the opportunity arose for the family business and the property to be sold to D.J. Wright and the Wright family, who they knew would make certain that the legacy of funeral service that the Ford family had followed since the 1870's, would be continued.
"D.J.'s reputation in the community as a funeral director of genuine, selfless, and heartfelt service, as well as a funeral director who believed in modernizing funeral service while honoring traditions and customs, was very well known to, and appreciated by our family."
"His true altruism and community-mindedness serving the Flemington area for the past thirteen years at the time, was the type of personality whom we always wanted to continue the legacy of service that my family has advocated for the past 150 years. When the circumstances arose, and we learned that D.J. did not want to leave what had become his hometown, we could not pass upon the opportunity to ensure that Flemington would have a life celebration home for all peoples and a home that would become something that had never been seen before."
"D.J.'s vision and his passion for funeral service are palpable and we are so grateful to see all that he has brought to the community for the better. All my ancestors are certainly smiling, knowing we made the right choice to pass along the family ministry of selfless service to D. J." says Bob.
Bob continues to serve the Funeral Home doing everything from meeting families served by he and his Dad for generations, to washing cars and answering phones. "It is nice to be able to do a bit of everything," says Bob. "As we come upon the third year anniversary of the sale, I look at all that has been accomplished; from the entire renovation of the building to the tremendous amount of wonderful service offerings Wright & Ford affords ALL peoples, regardless of financial circumstances. I am so proud to know that Flemington and families world-wide are able to be served in ways that have never been seen before."
"Each time the phone rings and we are privileged to take someone into our care, it is a very humbling time for us all, knowing we have a sacred responsibility to both the living and the deceased and that we do it with nothing but heartfelt and golden rule service."
Bob can be reached at 908-782-3311 or via e-mail at careteam@wrightfamily.com.
