EKB News

KENTUCKY...
Sixteenth century painter and sculptor Michelangelo once said, “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.”

In the classroom, Janice Ford introduced her students to the artists who color our world. For Ford, a longtime professor of art at Pikeville College, that was an important part of the learning process.
Although she lost a courageous battle with Multiple Myeloma in 2007, Ford’s family, along with the campus community, will honor her memory by dedicating the Janice Beeler Ford Student Art Gallery at Pikeville College on Thursday, Sept. 30, at 5 p.m., in the Allara Library.

During the dedication, Allen Abshire, of Pikeville, will be recognized as the first student to receive the Janice Beeler Ford Award for Excellence in the Visual Arts.
“This is a special gift to our students. The best way to honor Janice is by recognizing their achievement,” said Pikeville College President Paul Patton. “Through this gallery, her love of the arts and dedication as a professor will continue to be a source of inspiration.”
A talented artist, Ford enjoyed and made the most of the creative ability God gave her. She began painting during her teenage years and progressed as an artist, expanding her knowledge of every medium including oils, colored pencil and watercolors. Ford most enjoyed painting watercolors and loved painting still-life images.

A Pikeville College alumna, she began her career as an art teacher at Johns Creek Elementary and at Pikeville High School. In 1969, she joined the faculty of Pikeville College. While at the college, Ford was named Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers for five consecutive years, received the Teacher of the Year Award and was named an Outstanding Teacher of America by the Pikeville Women’s Club.
A lifelong resident of Pikeville and a devoted member of the Pikeville Church of Christ, she and husband Bobby L. Ford were married for 43 years. Ford’s brother, Forrest (Buddy) Beeler, and sister, Beverly Beeler Sanders, also live in Pikeville.
“She was a wonderful teacher, supportive mother, devoted wife, and an example of what a Godly woman should be,” said daughter Laura Ford Hall. “For all the significance of her life, and the numerous lives she affected, she was, above all, a Christian servant.”

Hall, along with her husband, Brad Hall, and her father, Bob Ford, join Pikeville College in inviting the community to attend the Janice Beeler Ford Student Art Gallery opening on Sept. 30, at 5 p.m. For more information, contact the Office of Public Affairs at 218-5270.