Janet Lee Ford

Widowed, preceded in death by her beloved husband, Carl Eugene Ford, 1-19-30 to 11-14-2020, her mother Thelma Mabel McCoy Cross and father McCusky Lee Cross, brother Glen McCusky Cross and her nephew Glen Stephen.

Survived by her children, Daniel Shaver (Sharon), Cheryl Shaver Ramsey (Darrell), Lynne Shaver and Annette Shaver D’Aurora (Paul). Grandchildren: Liam and Jack Ramsey, Allia Shaver, Megan D’Aurora Aydin (Erman) and Ryan D’Aurora. Great grandson:  Ollen Aydin.

Janet was a devout, steadfast and true believer in God above all else.  Through her faith, she was able to raise four children on her own.  She ran her household like the finely tuned engine she was; clean, organized, and very tidy.  In 1972 God led her to the perfect husband and amazing step father for her children, Carl Ford, who shared her love of God and family.  They were inseparable from the very beginning and did everything together.  

Janet loved to sing and had the perfect alto voice for harmonizing.  Music was always in her heart and she passed on that love of music to all of her children.  Janet was a great country-style cook.  Her specialties were fried chicken, potato salad, deviled eggs, green beans, and tender roast beef that was always perfectly seasoned.  She always baked special desserts for her family:  German Chocolate Cake, Cherry Pie, and Carrot Cake.  If those didn’t appeal, she would make sure you had what you wanted even if it was a store bought cake with buttercream frosting.

During Mom’s lifetime, she always put God first.  She was a member of the Methodist Church and attended the Presbyterian Church at times.  She had a conversion of heart to Catholicism in her final days.  She embraced the Catholic faith as her own well before her conversion.  Her family prayed the Rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplet with her daily in her final weeks.

Mom was tough as nails and still managed to dream of camping and fall drives to admire the changing leaves.  She was known for her adventurous spirit. Long days at work and attending to her family did not dampen spirit.  She loved to treat her children to pizza and one soda of their choice on paydays and typically made spaghetti and meatballs on her nights off from work.  Sundays were reserved for fried chicken or roast beef.

Mom had many hobbies but was drawn to needlework.  She has crocheted, embroidered, latch hooked, and cross stitched many beautiful items over the years.  She loved reading but as her eyesight began to fail her, she would listen to audiobooks and her beloved granddaughter, Allia, would read to her most nights via FaceTime.

Mom was also known for using well known quips like:  “Early bird catches the worm”, “Rise and Shine”, “Up and At ‘em”, “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it" and numerous other catch phrases that would roll off her tongue. Mom’s impatience at an intersection would typically elicit the phrase “Who let the gate down?” as she waited for a break in traffic and when faced with a car moving into her lane, her turn-phrase would be “He’s taking his half out of the middle.  A big rain storm would coin the phrase, “It’s raining cats and dogs!”  And when frustrated with her children she would exclaim, “I don’t know why I even try, you kids just don’t care.” Finally, “Jesus paid it all!”

Mom never met an animal that she didn’t love or love her right back.  As a young child, she would mount their horse and ride bareback, without a bridle, much to her parents’ chagrin.  She had a great affinity for horses her entire life.  She fondly remembered her great dane from her school days and she raised family dogs Ginger, Eric, Mindy, and Coco as her fur babies as well as bottlefeeding baby goats and a baby groundhog.  Animals were attracted to her soothing calls, warm embraces, and scratches behind the ears.  

Mass of Christian Burial on October 16, 2025 at 10:00 am, St. Mark the Evangelist in Tampa, FL.  Inurnment will take place on October 17, 2025 at 11:00 am at Fountains Memorial Park, Homosassa, FL.

The family would especially like to thank Nurse Marie, Caregiver Mikka and the Care Team of Sun Coast Hospice, for their steadfast and tender care of Mom.  She always looked forward to their visits.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to stjude.org or suncoasthospicefoundation.org.