WILLIAMSTOWN — If West Virginia Governor-turned-Senator Joe Manchin and longtime Williamstown Mayor Jean Ford were at an event, the small-town official didn’t have to seek out the state and national figure.

“He went to her,” former Belpre Mayor Mike Lorentz said with a laugh.

Manchin was one of many public officials offering condolences this weekend after Ford passed away Friday at the age of 90 at WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center.

“Gayle and I are heartbroken by the death of our dear friend, former Mayor Jean Ford,” Manchin said. “Her impact on Williamstown and the entire state will last for generations. She has been a lifelong friend, and I had the honor of speaking with her hours before she passed. We extend our deepest condolences to Jean’s family and all of her loved ones as they mourn this tremendous loss.”

From 1997 to 2020, Ford served as Williamstown’s mayor, the first woman elected to the office. Prior to that, she was a member of the City Council, where Marty Seufer, a longtime councilman and the Wood County administrator, first met her.

They started as colleagues, but on Sunday, Seufer described Ford as more like family.

“We went through some really, really tough times financially as a city, and she really brought a business sense to it,” he said, adding he’s not sure Williamstown could have weathered those difficulties without Ford.

Ford, who owned Mel’s Diamond House in Vienna with her late husband, the business’ namesake, did a great deal of things behind the scenes for which she did not take credit, Seufer said.

“I can’t think of anybody that represented Williamstown better,” he said.

Lorentz agreed.

“She just touted Williamstown … like it was one of her kids,” he said.

Ford showed respect for others and received respect in turn, said Wood County Commissioner Jimmy Colombo, who spent nearly 10 years as mayor of Parkersburg. That built some great connections with Manchin and other state leaders, he said.

“She was a great person to have on your side if you needed something,” Colombo said.

Ford was always willing to work with her fellow mayors for things that would benefit Wood County, he said.

Parkersburg Mayor Tom Joyce first met Ford when he was a teenager and recalled her and her husband always being kind and pleasant.

“She was a class act, a woman of great refinement,” he said.

Vienna Mayor Randy Rapp described Ford as “one of the kindest people I ever met in my life.

“She dedicated her life to doing the best at everything she could,” he said. “She just wanted to make people’s lives better.” Williamstown Mayor Paul Jordan succeeded Ford after defeating her in the 2020 election. He served two four-year terms on council while she was mayor.

“She lived a wonderful life,” Jordan said Sunday. “She was constantly wanting to see things build and move and go in a good way.” Jordan and council members welcomed Ford back to a council meeting in June 2021 to present her with a certificate of honor for her service. At that meeting, Jordan noted Ford played a role in attracting Hino Motors to the city, establishing the new Williamstown Elementary School, the creation of the Williamstown Healthy Lifestyle Pool and a roundabout that was completed in the fall of 2020. In an interview after the 2020 election, Ford said that while it was strange to be stepping down from the job she’d held for so long, she looked forward to putting more focus on her business and spending time with family. At the June 2021 meeting, she said there were three ingredients to her success as mayor.

“Blessings from above, the second is love and the third one is caring for people,” she said. “That is the only reason I became mayor of Williamstown … because I thought I could make a difference.”

Funeral arrangements for Ford are pending at Leavitt Funeral Home in Parkersburg.