Ford Motor Company Leader Dies

VOA News
9 March 2014 (3:56PM)

William Clay Ford Sr., the last surviving grandchild of Ford Motor Company founder Henry Ford, has died.

He was the father of William Clay Ford Jr., currently the executive chairman of the automaker. The elder Ford died of pneumonia at his suburban Detroit, Michigan, home on Sunday. He was 88.

Ford joined the automaker's sales and advertising staff after graduating from Yale University in 1949. He was elected to the company's board of directors the year before he graduated and served until his retirement in 2005 - more than half the automaker's 110-year history.

Ford's survivors include his wife of 66 years, Martha Firestone Ford, granddaughter of Harvey Firestone, the founder of the Firestone tire company.

Ford also owned the Detroit Lions professional American football team in the NFL.