Kenneth Ford was born on the 2nd floor of a frame house in Alvin, Texas. He was the 2nd of four sons of Natalia Wellborn Ford and Henry Harrison Ford.* Soon the family moved to Houston and Kenny began to excel in sports and academics. Before attending UT Austin, he was a student at Exeter in New Hampshire. Kenny entered UT in 1937 and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering in 1940. He was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity and the Texas Cowboys. He was also a member of two honorary engineering fraternities, Tau Beta Pi and Pi Epsilon.

Kenny met Jane Lee Stroud, a member of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority, while they were students. After her graduation they married on March 29, 1941, in the Zeta sorority house. Some of their favorite pastimes were dancing to the music of the Big Band Sound (especially by Ed Gerlach) and going on Flying Longhorn trips. Their loving marriage lasted for 65 years until Jane passed away in November 2006.

Kenny was an ensign in the Navy and served as an engineer on the tanker ship U.S.S. Patuxent in the Pacific during World War II. When he returned in 1945, he continued his work with J. S. Abercrombie Co., an independent oil and gas operator, until he was employed, on the day it was formed, by the international oil and gas consulting firm J. R. Butler. The firm later became Miller and Lents, Ltd. Kenny remained active for 50 years and served as president and director from 1970 to 1987 and was still a director for 11 more years. His most proud professional accomplishment was membership on a six-man select team on the Board of Arbitration for the Prudhoe Bay Oil Field, Alaska.

His service to UT Austin included membership on the Chancellor’s Council, the President’s Associates, the Longhorn Foundation and the Ex-Students Association. He was also a Friend of Alec. Kenny and Jane set up the Kenneth B. and Jane Stroud Ford Endowed Scholarship for a deserving UT PGE student. In 1998 he was honored as a Distinguished Graduate from the School of Engineering. It was a highlight of his life!

Kenny centered his life around his strong faith. He was a charter member and past chairman of the administrative board of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Houston. He spent many years as a teacher of the men’s Bible class. Later he and Jane became members at the First United Methodist Church in downtown Houston where his grandfather had been a charter member. Kenny spent time hand-writing notes to his children and grandchildren about life lessons with scripture to guide them.

First was his love for Jane, but his other passions were golf and Bible study. Kenny and Jane had four children, Kenneth Jr., Janie, Sally and Blake; 14 grandchildren; and 34 great grandchildren.^ Two great-grands graduated from UT Austin and one is a student. Kenneth Ford’s legacy … Christian faith, integrity, hard work, grace, honesty, generosity, kindness and love of family!

*Henry Harrison Ford attended UT in 1901 and 1902.
^As of 2024, there were 15 Longhorns from the Ford family.

Written by Jane Blake Ford Slack.