Robert Thomas Ford

A Mass of Christian Burial for Robert Thomas Ford, 72, Abilene, will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at St. Andrew’s Catholic Church in Abilene, with the Rev. Henry Baxa officiating. Burial will be in the St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery in Abilene.
Mr. Ford died Friday, July 3, 2009, at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
He was born May 18, 1937, in Chicago, the son of William T. and Katherine Walter Ford. He moved to Lawrence as a child and graduated from Lawrence High School.
Mr. Ford earned a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He had owned and operated Abrasive Blast Systems Inc. in Abilene since 1980. He was a member of St. Andrew’s Catholic Church.
He married Anita Kay Grinstead on Aug. 25, 1956, in Lawrence. She preceded him in death Feb. 4, 1985.
He was also preceded in death by his parents and an infant son, Thomas.
He later married Karyl Schmutz on Oct. 3, 1987, in Abilene. She survives, of the home.
Other survivors include three sons, Tod, Wichita, Troy, Liberty, Mo., and Tyler, Clearwater; two daughters, Tal Vanarsdale, Lee’s Summit, Mo., and Tobee Ford-Nelson, Kansas City, Mo.; three stepchildren, Eric Schmutz, Alexandria, Va., Todd Schmutz, Odgen, Utah, and Stephanie Simpson, Austin, Texas; a brother, William, Tucson, Ariz.; 14 grandchildren; and two great-grandsons.
A parish rosary will be recited at 7 p.m. today at the Martin-Becker-Carlson Funeral Home in Abilene.
Friends may call at the funeral home until the time of service.
The family suggests memorials to the MD Anderson Hospital Colorectal Cancer Center or the church, sent in care of the funeral home, 414 NW Third, Abilene, KS 67410.
Online condolences may be sent to mbcfh.com.