Mary Jo Lampson Broussard Ford

Mary Jo Lampson Broussard Ford, 83, of Beaumont, Texas, passed away on Sunday, August 27, 2017. She died peacefully at home surrounded by her husband and four children.

Mary Jo was born in Beaumont, Texas, on June 30,1934.  She was the daughter of Julius John Lampson and Nancy Jebbia Lampson and was the third of six children.  She grew up in Beaumont on Elgie Street, across from Giles Elementary School, in South Park. Her childhood home was a regular gathering place for family and friends.

Mary Jo contracted polio in 1948 at the age of 14 and was a patient at John Sealy Hospital in Galveston for two years. The disease left her totally paralyzed from the neck down.  Unable to breathe, she survived in an iron lung for almost a year. During this time, Mary Jo never gave up. On one occasion, a priest and nuns holding candles came to pray for her. Thinking that they were there to administer her last rites, she said, “You can save your candles because I am not going to die.” With the enduring support of family and friends, she refused to let the disease overcome her and slowly gained strength.  She re-learned how to use her hands and regained partial use of her arms. 

Mary Jo returned to Beaumont in 1950, unable to walk, but determined to finish high school.  Thanks to the help of her teachers at South Park High School, who frequently made house calls for her, Mary Jo kept up with her school work at home and graduated on time with her class of 1951.  She went on to attend Lamar State College of Technology with the help of her classmates, who generously brought her to school, pushed her wheelchair, and carried her up and down the stairs. She graduated with degrees in Social Science and Commercial Art in 1955.  She spent a summer at Stephen F. Austin College in Nacogdoches, after which she enrolled in a master’s program in Speech and Hearing Pathology at the University of Houston.

It was at the University of Houston that she met her first husband, Joe Broussard.  After getting homesick, she called the men’s dormitory and asked if anyone was driving to Beaumont that weekend.  Joe came to the phone and agreed to pick her up.  Little did he know that he literally had to “pick her up” and put her in the car, along with her wheelchair.  This was the beginning of an incredible relationship.  In 1956, she received a Master of Education degree in Speech and Hearing Pathology and eventually worked for South Park Independent School District as a speech therapist.  She also continued her interest in art, occasionally working as a commercial artist and children’s art teacher.

After Mary Jo finished school and started working in Beaumont, Joe Broussard was determined to keep their relationship alive.  He wanted to marry her, but she was not ready.  They were finally engaged in 1960, married in 1961, and had four children between 1962 and 1967. With the constant support of her husband, her mother, and siblings, Mary Jo loved and cared for a house full of children. For her, anything was possible with the support of family and friends.  Later, with the children in high school, Joe suffered a long illness.  Mary Jo was by his side every minute until he died in 1983.  It was not long after Joe died that she met her future husband, Bob Ford, at a cattle round-up in LaBelle, Texas.  They were married in August, 1985.  Bob was also an extremely devoted and attentive husband.  She thanked the Lord each and every day to have been blessed with such wonderful men to love and care for her. 

Mary Jo enjoyed artwork throughout her life.  She had an artist’s eye and saw beauty all around her.  Over the years she created hundreds of oil and watercolor paintings filling her home and the homes of family and friends with her beautiful work.  Unable to keep up with the demand with her original artwork, she sold lithographic prints and cards of her landscape scenes and still lifes through her art business, MJB Artwork.    

Mary Jo was the owner of the Broussard Cattle Company and was highly involved in civic activities.  During her life, she was a member of the Junior League of Beaumont, Art Museum of Southeast Texas, Beaumont Art League, Gulf Coast Art League, Beaumont Symphony Women’s League, Beaumont Heritage Society, Beaumont Civic Opera Buffs, Master Gardeners, Mary Howell Garden Club, Italian American Society of Beaumont, St. Anne Catholic Church, and St. Anne Ladies, as well as being the Campaign Chairman for her brother, Nick Lampson, for numerous political campaigns.  In 2000, Mary Jo was honored as one of the Distinguished Alumni of Lamar University.  She was devoted to her faith and the Catholic Diocese of Beaumont.  She was a member of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem.

Mary Jo was preceded in death by her husband Joseph Eloi Broussard III in 1983 and is survived by her husband of 32 years, Robert F. Ford, Jr.  She is also survived by her four children and ten grandchildren, Joseph E. Broussard IV and wife Johnnie Slovak Broussard, John D. Broussard, James C. Broussard and wife Monica Freeman Broussard, and Michelle Broussard Miller and husband Andy S. Miller.  Grandchildren include Kate Broussard, Beth Broussard, Joe Broussard V, Jonah Broussard Schumacher, Josie Broussard, Casey Broussard, Belle Broussard, Zachary Miller, Jonathan Miller, and Christopher Miller.

Additionally, she was preceded in death by her brother James Lampson and is survived by her siblings J.J. Lampson, Gene Lampson, Nick Lampson, and Frances Lampson Breaux, along with many nieces and nephews. 

Family and faith were always the driving forces in Mary Jo’s life, and her passion, creativity, and vision were enabled on a daily basis by many friends and family members.  We are especially grateful for the love and invaluable help provided by Elvia Sifuentes, John Foster, and Claudia Peña.  We appreciate their dedication and consider each of them to be part of our family.

Mary Jo lived an abundant life.  She was loved by many who had the good fortune to know her, and she will long be remembered for her optimism, humility, sense of humor, kindness, and loving nature.  Her spirit will be in our hearts forever.

A gathering of Mrs. Ford’s family and friends will be 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m., with a Rosary to be recited at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, September 12, 2017, at Broussard’s, 2000 McFaddin Avenue, Beaumont. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, September 13, 2017, at St. Anthony Cathedral Basilica, 700 Jefferson Street, Beaumont, with her interment to follow at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Beaumont.

In lieu of flowers, a scholarship at Lamar University is being created in Mary Jo’s name. Donations may be made to Lamar University Foundation, Inc., P. O. Box 11500, Beaumont, Texas 77710, in memory of Mary Jo Broussard. For additional information, call 409-880-2117, or email at floyd.mcspadden@lamar.edu.