How to Place an Obituary

Click Here to Submit an Obituary Online

After your loved one passes away, you have so many contractual details to deal with, like home, finances, burial and funeral arrangements, the last thing you want to think about is placing an obituary in your local paper, but doing so is very important. A published obituary can be used in many cases with insurance companies and creditors to help prove the official death of a loved one, as well as letting all of your neighbors, friends and loved ones know of the passing in an efficient manner.

Although this may seem like an insurmountable task, The Mountain-Ear can help. We have a simple form to help you get started. We can put it all together into a story format for you. The cost to place an obituary is $25. That includes a photo and 750 words. Need an extended obituary? No problem. We can do that too. We can help make the process as simple as possible, for you and your family. To get your forms, more information and to see examples of published obituaries, please email publisher@themountainear.com.

Will Ford: The beat goes on




Family, old and new Above, left; David, young Will, and Liz Ford at a celebration. Above, right; Emma, David, Will, and Olivia sharing a family hug. PHOTO COURTESY OF LIZ FORD

Family, old and new Above, left; David, young Will, and Liz Ford at a celebration. Above, right; Emma, David, Will, and Olivia sharing a family hug. PHOTO COURTESY OF LIZ FORD

Liz and David Ford were living in Fairfield, Iowa, when they got the call: “We’ve got a beautiful, blue- eyed boy for you, but he’s in Findley, Ohio.” They dropped everything, flew to Ohio, and met their new son. By the age of seven days, Will Ford was living in Iowa, with his loving new family.

He wasn’t there long. Two years later, in 1994, they all moved to Nederland, Colorado. Liz and David had visited Colorado before, they loved it. When the opportunity to move here arose, they grabbed it.

Will’s dad built their first house on Sundance Circle, near the elementary school. “Growing up in Nederland was magical.” Will had two close friends in the neighborhood, Mac Decker and Jacob Taylor. They everywhere, climbed rock formations, and spent much of their time at Chipeta Park.

Boys being boys. “It was really safe, there was always an adult around you could trust, everyone knew you. It was that small town vibe.”

Will was often singing, dancing, and doing crazy stuff. His first grade teacher knew he was destined for some form of show business, and he encouraged him to pursue that. By middle school, he was in the school choir, and he was auditioning for plays and musicals. His first performance was in the seventh grade production of Guys and Dolls. “All I wanted to do was sing and do theatre.”

PHOTO BY LORENA DE SANTA“

PHOTO BY LORENA DE SANTA“

After high school Will attended Casper College, in Casper, Wyoming. With only 3,000 students, it has an incredible theatre program, without the high price of schools in New York, LA, or Chicago. “I loved everything about it. I had two lead roles in my freshman year, one of which was Malvolio in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. The biggest role I ever got was in my last year. I was Juan Peron in Evita. It was fantastic.”

After college Will returned to Nederland, worked as a ski instructor for a season, and then moved to Denver. That’s where his career in real estate began. He worked for a company that would send him to various rental properties to help out.

Love abounds Above, left; Will and Emma at their wedding on July 28, 2018. Above, right; Will and the kids hanging out at home before watching a Green Bay Packers game. PHOTO COURTESY OF WILL FORD

Love abounds Above, left; Will and Emma at their wedding on July 28, 2018. Above, right; Will and the kids hanging out at home before watching a Green Bay Packers game. PHOTO COURTESY OF WILL FORD

I loved my bosses and co-workers, but there were others involved. There were people who seemed to care more about money than the tenants. I told my mom, I call her Liz in a professional setting, and she said, ‘You’re coming up here to sell real estate with me.’ ”

He and his mom have been working together for five years. “Liz is unrelenting, she’s the greatest realtor I’ve ever seen. She will do things for her clients that no one else will. She puts her heart first. When she’s on her deathbed she’ll probably pop up to say, ‘Remember to send the amendment to John.’ ”

Will works long hours, and he’s not into the bar scene. He met his wife Emma online, and her first message to him was while he was on a date with another girl. “I couldn’t stop thinking about her, and then I fell in love the first time I saw her.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF WILL FORD

PHOTO COURTESY OF WILL FORD

Emma lived in Denver. She came up to Ned, for her first time, on their second date. They were married at his parents’ home on July 28, 2018. Pastor Hansen Wendlandt presided. They call Nederland home. Says Emma: “I’m happy in Nederland. I love the nature, I always wanted to live in the mountains.”

They have two kids: David, named after his grandfather, is three and a half. “He’s obsessed with dinosaurs, the ocean, and space. He can teach you things about space you’ve never known. I think he’ll do theatre at some point, he loves to sing and dance.”

Olivia, ten months, is the adventuresome one. “She gets into anything and everything. She’s super sweet and happy all the time, she’s my best friend.”

Will knows his kids won’t have the same Nederland experience he did. Society has changed over the last thirty years.

“I just want them to be happy and successful in whatever they do, I don’t care what it is. I asked my parents once if theatre was what they really wanted me to do. My dad replied, ‘We knew it wasn’t the best choice, but you were doing what you wanted to do.’ I really don’t care what my David and Olivia do, as long as they love it, they’re good at it, and it makes them happy.”

That my friends, is wisdom passed from father to son. In just a blink of an eye, Will may pass the same advice along to his son. The beat goes on.