Anthony Ford

Anthony Lee Ford, age 9, of Mankato, died peacefully after a courageous battle with Leukemia on Wednesday, April 12, 2006 with his family and friends at his side at home.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Monday, April 17, 2006 at the Taylor Center on the MSU Campus. Visitation will be held from 4-8 p.m. Saturday, April 15, 2006 at Mankato Mortuary. Visitation will continue one hour before the service at the Taylor Center on Monday.

Donations and memorials are preferred in lieu of flowers and can be made to the Childrens Leukemia Research Foundation, St. Judes Cancer Hospital in Nashville, TN or to Anthonys favorite, Make-A-Wish Foundation of Minnesota.

Anthony was born on February 8, 1997 to Michael and Robin (Schoenfeldt) Ford in Mankato. He was brought into the family of God through Holy Baptism on March 9, 1997 at Messiah Lutheran Church in North Mankato. Anthony attended kindergarten and 1st grade at St. Johns Elementary School in Good Thunder and 2nd and 3rd grades at Monroe Elementary in North Mankato. He loved school, his favorite subjects were reading, spelling, physical education, and history, but he really excelled in math. Anthony also loved sports of all kinds, but his true passion was hockey. He played forward and goalie for the Mankato Area Hockey Association.

Anthonys other interests were biking, music (his favorite song, We are the Champions by Queen), playing PS2, meteorology (especially severe weather conditions), and spending time with his puppy, Jessie .

Anthony, with his intelligence and sense of humor, courage and strength, faith and devotion, and love and compassion inspired many lives and will be truly missed. Anthony reminded us that great things really do come in small packages.

Anthony is survived by his parents, Michael and Robin Ford of Mankato; grandparents, Ronald and Margaret Schoenfeldt of Rapidan, Dale Ford of Maple Grove, Donald and Lydia Orstad of Minneapolis; uncles and aunts, Michael and Rhonda Drysdale of Lake Crystal, Elliot and Julie Wienger of Rochester, NY, Eric and Lori Ahlness of Maplewood, Steven Ford and his friend, Mary Leborde of Minneapolis, and Rodney and Kathy Kendall of Burnsville. Anthony is also survived by many relatives, cousins, classmates, teammates, fellow hockey players and many close friends who have opened their hearts to him.