Walter Edward "Eddy" Ford III

Eddy Ford died at his home in Farragut, Tennessee, on Tuesday, 6 October 2026, at the age of 87. No cause of death has been made public. His family thanked the Rural Metro Fire Department and the staff of Parkwest Medical Center for their care.

Mayor Alex Cain announced his death at the Farragut Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting on 8 October 2026. Former vice mayor Dot LaMarche, former alderman Bob Markli, town co-founder Eric Johnson, former mayor Ron Williams and town attorney Tom Hale were among those who paid tribute, and Markli said he was "Mr. Farragut in my book."

Visitation was arranged for Monday, 26 October 2026, at Click Funeral Home in Farragut, with a private graveside service to follow at a later date at the Masonic Cemetery in Concord, Tennessee. The family asked that donations go to the Concord United Methodist Church Building Fund.

Walter Edward Ford III, always known as Eddy, was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, on 22 August 1939, the son of Walter Edward Ford Jr. and Wilda Bernice Bevins Ford. He grew up in the Farragut community west of Knoxville and was a lifelong resident there.

His mother was a schoolteacher, and colleagues later credited her influence for his strong command of English. At Farragut High School he played varsity football and basketball and graduated in 1957 as class valedictorian. He studied at the University of Tennessee, earning bachelor's and master's degrees in nuclear engineering.

After university Ford served two years of active duty in the U.S. Army as a commissioned officer and was discharged as a first lieutenant. He worked as a construction engineer for the Atomic Energy Commission and then spent 33 years at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, in its computational physics and engineering division, until he retired. For many years he also refereed local high school football games.

When the newly incorporated Town of Farragut held its first election in 1980, Ford ran for South Ward alderman. His campaign letter told voters that, as a lifetime resident, he shared "a deep concern about the future of the town of Farragut." He sat alongside the town's co-founders on the first Board of Mayor and Aldermen and, although he had not been part of the incorporation effort, quickly became known for reading proposed ordinances closely and correcting their wording.

Ford was vice mayor under the first mayor, Bob Leonard, from 1984 to 1993, and became mayor in 1993, serving 16 years until 2009. The town counts 29 years of elected service, which it says makes him its longest-serving elected official. He kept Farragut free of debt by funding projects in cash, and while he was on the board the population grew from about 6,000 in 1980 to about 21,000 by 2010 without a municipal property tax. His obituary credits him with making Campbell Station Park a reality and with extending Campbell Station Road from Kingston Pike to Northshore Drive.

Beyond the town, Ford chaired state and regional boards that guided transportation policy and the allocation of state and federal grants, including a Regional Transportation Planning Organization. He was elected president of the Small Cities group of the National League of Cities and hosted one of its events in Farragut, and the Tennessee Municipal League named him Mayor of the Year in 2007.

Ford married his high school sweetheart, Linda June Laughlin, in 1960, and they were married for 66 years. The couple were members of Concord United Methodist Church. Together they travelled north to bring back historical items connected with Admiral David Glasgow Farragut that helped form the collection of the town museum. He was also close to cousins in Knoxville and Virginia.

Ford is remembered as one of the two mayors who shaped Farragut in its first decades, guiding a small new town through rapid suburban growth while keeping it free of a municipal property tax and of debt. Colleagues described an easygoing, fair leader who listened to residents and turned their priorities into ordinances, and who drew new people into town government through appointments such as the Development Process Review Board.

Town attorney Tom Hale said the citizens of Farragut "should be forever grateful to both Eddy and Linda for their longstanding commitment of time, energy and integrity to lead the growth and development of the Town of Farragut." Campbell Station Park, the extended Campbell Station Road and the town museum collection are lasting parts of his work.