Earl Joseph Lefty Ford, age 65, of 2540 Terrace Drive, Huron, died Friday, October 22, 2004, at the Huron Regional Medical Center. His funeral mass will be at 11:00 AM Wednesday, October 27, at Holy Trinity Catholic Parish with Rev. Donald Imming officiating. Burial will be at Restlawn Memory Gardens Cemetery. Friends may call Tuesday afternoon and evening at the Welter Funeral Home or prior to the mass at the church Wednesday morning. There will be a Scripture Service at 7:30 PM Tuesday evening at the funeral home with the family present until 9:00 PM. Earl Joseph Ford was born on August 21, 1939, to Bernard and Cecilia (Marsh) Ford at Huron, SD. Earl grew up in the Yale area where he attended school and graduated from Yale High School in 1958. Lefty, as Earl was known, entered the U.S. Army on June 16, 1958, and was honorably discharged on March 27, 1961. After he returned home he joined the South Dakota Army National Guard and served in the 153rd Engineer Battalion at Huron until his honorable discharge in 1990. On September 1, 1962, Earl married Darlene Kolousek at Wessington Springs. The couple made their home in Huron. Lefty was employed as a meat cutter at Armour and Company in Huron for 21 years; in 1983, as a mechanic for Parkhurst Trucking; and in 1991, as a mechanic for Hurd Alignment and Machine Shop where he presently was employed. He was a member of Holy Trinity Catholic Parish, William Reaves American Legion Post #7, and the Elks Lodge. Lefty always enjoyed the time that he could spend with his family, especially his grandchildren. His many interests included bowling, watching the Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings on television. He is survived by his wife, Darlene of Huron; 5 children, Donna (Steve) Schneider of Ellsworth, KS, Diane Ford of Las Vegas, NV, Pat (Julie) Ford of Sioux Falls, Paul (Janice) Ford of Huron, and Bernard (Cheyenne) Ford of Sioux Falls; 7 grandchildren, Jessica Schneider, Veronica Ford, Samantha Ford, Courtney Ford, Ethan Ford, Brandon Ford and Aubrey Ford; 3 brothers, Jim (Darlene) Ford of Las Vegas, Eugene (Myrna) Ford of Las Vegas, and Dennis (Mary) Ford of Sioux Falls; 3 sisters, Pat (Johnny) Kleinsasser of Sioux Falls, Rita Kolousek of Wessington Springs, and Carol Ford of Portland, OR; his mother-in-law, Ione Kolousek of Wessington Springs; and 1 brother-in-law, Sam Hofer of Sioux Falls. He was preceded in death by his parents; 1 granddaughter, Tina (Schneider) Deiser; 1 brother, Gerald Ford in infancy; 1 sister, Yvonne Bonnie Hofer; 1 brother-in-law, Raymond Kolousek; and his father-in-law, Pete Kolousek.