Background
Martha Firestone was born September 16, 1925 in Akron, Ohio. She is the daughter of Harvey S. Firestone, Junior. and Elizabeth Parke Firestone.
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Martha Ford
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Education
Ford graduated from Vassar College in 1946. Martha first met her husband, William Clay Ford, at a lunch in New York arranged and attended by both of their mothers, according to the biography The Fords.
Career
Martha then was a Vassar student who had the college nickname “Stoney.” William was a naval cadet at Saint Mary"s United States. Navy Pre-Flight School. By that time both families had acquired considerable wealth, and the matchup between the grandchildren of two empire-builders was reported by numerous news outlets. The Akron Beacon Journal called the Firestone-Ford nuptials “the biggest society wedding in Akron’s history” and “the biggest show Akron has seen in years” in numerous articles chronicling the event.
The couple received gifts from Federal Bureau of Investigation Director J. Edgar Hoover, media publisher John South. Knight, and Mina Miller Edison.
The couple had four children: Martha Parke Morse (b 1948), Sheila Firestone Hamp (b 1951), William Clay Ford, Junior. (b 1957), and Elizabeth Ford Kontulis (b 1961).
Her son William was as of 2015 the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ford Motor Company. He had previously been the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Ford.
William also serves as Vice Chairman of the She has resided in Grosse Pointe Shores since 1960, when she and William had a house built on Lake Saint Clair.
On March 9, 2014, Martha"s husband William died at the age of 88. William had been the sole owner of the Lions since he bought out all other owners in 1963 for United States$4.5 million. On March 10, 2014 it was announced that controlling interest in the Lions would pass to Ford"s widow, Martha.
Martha Ford is among a small group of female NFL team owners.
Achievements
Membership
Martha and her immediate family, and several other members of the extended, have long lived at Grosse Pointe, Michigan.
