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By Denise MacLachlan
Catholic Herald staff writer
Deacon David Ford and his wife Lorie, still mourning
the sudden death in June of their 19-year-old son Michael, lost all of
their mementos of Michael, including hundreds of condolence letters, when
their Auburn home burned to the ground Aug. 30. The home was one of 63
destroyed when a wind-driven wildfire rushed through their neighborhood.
Michael Ford was a sophomore at St. Mary’s College and about to
start his summer job as a counselor at the college’s sports camp
when he collapsed in Walnut Creek and died of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy,
a leading cause of sudden cardiac arrest in young athletes.
Ford is a deacon at St. Theresa of Avila Parish in Auburn. He and his
wife had just returned to their home after taking youngest daughter to
St. Mary’s College to begin her freshman year when Lorie Ford heard
what sounded like airplanes “dive-bombing” and ran outside
to discover planes dropping fire-retardant near the house.
The couple began frantically packing their Chevy Suburban with family
photos as a sheriff’s car drove through the neighborhood, the driver
speaking through a bullhorn, ordering residents to evacuate immediately.
“The houses on both sides of us were on fire,” Deacon Ford
said, “and the smoke was so black we couldn’t see more than
a foot in front of the car. It was like a scene from hell.”
Two hours later, from a friend’s house, Lorie Ford watched television
images of her home burned to its foundation.
“But we survived,” said Deacon Ford, “and all of the
other families hit by the fire survived too, thank God. No one has been
seriously injured. That’s God’s grace.”
The Fords’ daughter Theresa teaches third grade at St. Jarlath School
in Oakland.
A special second collection will be taken at St. Teresa of Avila Parish
at all Masses, Sept. 12, to aid the eight parish families who lost their
homes in the fire. Sacramento Bishop Jaime Soto was scheduled to celebrate
Mass there Sept. 5, assisted by Deacon Ford.
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