John W. Ford, owner of in Cheshire, Naugatuck and Waterbury, is one of three runners-up in the national 2011 Funeral Director of the Year award.
Ford has been in the funeral service for 41 years, according to the award announcment, and is a certified disaster coordinator for Connecticut. He is also a member of the Region 1 Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team.
Ford became associated with Alderson Funeral Homes Inc. in 1970 and became the sole owner in 2007.
