Carolyn Bussey Ford

Carolyn Bussey Ford, a longtime resident of Ono Island, Orange Beach, AL, peacefully passed away on December 18, 2020 after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. Carolyn was born July 12, 1947 and grew up in the small towns of Emerson, Arkansas and Springhill, Louisiana graduating from Springhill High School. Soon after, she moved to the "big city" of Shreveport, Louisiana where she spent time working at the stock brokerage firm of Francis I. Dupont. There she met her future husband, Pat Bussey. They married in 1973 and spent many years traveling the world and discovering their passion for cooking. After their son Patrick was born they traveled widely, hunted deer in Texas and fished the inshore waters of Hackberry Louisiana and the blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico on their beloved boat the Miss Candy Kids. After Pat’s terminal cancer diagnosis, they decided to move to Ono Island in Orange Beach, Alabama in 1989 where Pat passed away at the end of 1989. In the years after Pat's passing, Carolyn became even more of a super-mom and devoted herself to taking care of Patrick and shuttling him from sports practices to other events, all the while building an amazing group of friends in Coastal Alabama. She was involved in many civic and charitable causes in the Gulf Shores and Orange Beach communities for many years. Carolyn remarried in 1993 to Ed Ford and began a new and exciting chapter of her life. She and Ed loved to travel and entertain and she especially loved hosting events at her beloved, meticulously organized home on Ono Island. Patrick jokes that while he may be her only child, her home was a close second. For Carolyn, every night called for a well thought out dinner that she loved to research and prepare, even when it was just the two of them. Ed would say that he was happy to clean every dish each night if Carolyn kept cooking those fine meals. Carolyn and Ed were active members of the Bon Temp Cabrix Mardi Gras Krewe where she reigned as queen. Carolyn had a very close knit group of friends and she loved to play tennis, bridge and bunco with them for many, many years. Carolyn was a long time member of Holy Spirit Episcopal Church and Orange Beach Methodist Church. Carolyn is preceded in death by her husband, Pat W. Bussey, Jr.; Parents Howard Ray and Ovie Campbell Evers; brother, Quinton Ray Evers; sister, Joyce Ann Smith. She is survived by her husband, Eliphalet Miller "Ed" Ford III; son, Patrick W. Bussey III (Amanda); grandson, Patrick Finnigan (Finn) Bussey; step-daughter, Paige Benson (Tommy); step-son, Eliphalet "Miller" Ford IV; step-daughter, Tammy L. Rice; sister, Lavelle Vaughn; sisters-in-law, Janette Evers and Brenda Bartle (Tom); Numerous nieces and nephews Special thanks to all of her caregivers over the years and especially the staff at Homestead Village in Pensacola. A celebration of Carolyn's life will be held at a later date. The family requests that memorial contributions be made to the Alzheimer’s Foundation. www.alz.org