Henry Ford's Funeral, 1947

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Henry Ford. 1863-1947.

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Blog Created: 4-16-2026

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Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.

– Henry Ford

The day Henry Ford died was ironically defined by the very forces of nature and the auto industry that he had spent his life attempting to master. It was Monday, April 7, 1947, and Dearborn, Michigan, was in the grips of one of the worst floods in its history.

Heavy rains had pounded the region for several days, causing the River Rouge to overflow its banks. Raging floodwaters swept through the area, devastating neighborhoods. Although the industrial giant had officially retired in September 1945 at 82 due to health issues, and the presidency of the Ford Motor Co. passed to his grandson, Henry Ford II, the 83-year-old was still intensely active and highly protective of his properties.

The flood had created a pressing crisis he felt compelled to address.

Ford was concerned about potential damage to his properties and focused on his treasured historical complex and outdoor museum, Greenfield Village.

There were widespread power outages across the area, including his own sprawling estate, Fair Lane.

Ford had his chauffeur, Robert Rankin, drive him to the River Rouge Auto Plant for an inspection, then to Greenfield Village. He began a personal inspection of the entire property.

To Ford’s immense relief, his concern proved mostly unfounded; the massive museum complex had suffered no significant damage. The facility and its historical buildings stood firm against the fierce floodwaters that had devastated the surrounding community. After spending some time surveying the scene and assuring himself of the Village’s safety, Ford directed his chauffeur to take him back to his home after a long day.

Once he arrived, he got out of his car and bid his chauffeur good night. Ford entered his home, which was steeped in darkness because there was no power.

Not feeling well, Ford retired upstairs to his bedroom at about 9 p.m.

Later, the Fords’ housekeeper, Rosa Buhler, went upstairs. Aided by her flashlight, she entered Ford’s bedroom and was surprised to see Clara Ford sitting on the side of her bed, facing Henry, her gaze fixed on him.

Ford had woken up before 11 p.m. and was breathing very heavily. It became evident that both women immediately knew he was in distress.

Buhler sat down next to Mrs. Ford and suggested propping him up to help him breathe better. She retrieved a large pillow from the porch just off the bedroom, and Mrs. Ford placed it under his head.

Ford then attempted to speak to his wife. “He probably knew what was going on,” Buhler recalled of his final lucid action, as recounted by Henry Dominguez in his 2014 book, “The Last Days of Henry Ford.” “He motioned that we put out the candles.” Buhler blew out the candles in the room, making it almost entirely dark, and at 11:15 p.m., Henry Ford took his last breath.

Clara reached for his hand and checked for a pulse, finding none. The industrialist and business magnate died in the company of his wife and Buhler. After midnight, with the phones out due to the storm, Robert Rankin, the Ford chauffeur, was summoned to drive to the Dearborn engineering laboratory to call for a doctor.

Dr. John Mateer of the Ford Hospital arrived at the residence shortly after and confirmed the death due to a hemorrhagic stroke. Ford’s remains were removed from Fair Lane and transported to the Wm. R. Hamilton Funeral Home, then located at 3971 Cass Avenue in Detroit, for preparation.

The Early Years ~

Henry Ford was born July 20, 1863, to William and Mary Ford in Springwells Township, Michigan.

At 16, he left his family farm to apprentice as a machinist at Detroit Edison. In his spare time, he tinkered, building his first race car with a small, two-cylinder engine in 1892. While he first made a name for himself by winning races, his true goal was revolutionary: to make cars affordable for everyone. He launched the Ford Motor Co. in 1903; his genius, though, wasn’t in creating the automobile or even inventing the assembly line. Instead, Ford’s real contribution was his brilliant scaling up of production, pioneering the modern model for massive industrial implementation.

His introduction of the Model T in 1908 democratized the car. Unlike the expensive, handcrafted vehicles of the era, the Model T was sturdy, simple, and, most importantly, affordable. Ford achieved this unprecedented low price by pioneering the moving assembly line for large-scale manufacturing in 1913. This innovation dramatically reduced production time and costs, making the automobile a practical reality for the average American family.

Ford with an early example of his car, a Ford Model T.

Ford also made waves in labor practices. In 1914, he famously instituted the $5 day – a revolutionary wage that nearly doubled the pay of many of his workers. This move was not purely altruistic; it reduced employee turnover and, crucially, created a massive pool of workers who could now afford to buy the very cars they were building. This idea of high wages creating consumer demand became a cornerstone of modern industrial economics.

A Death is Announced ~

The monumental task of announcing the industrialist’s passing fell to Charles Carll, Ford’s public relations director. At 1:40 a.m., Carll notified the Detroit press room. The city’s newspapers announced the historic passing with headlines reading, “Nation Mourns Ford’s Death.” The telegraph offices were also busy sending out the grim news to the world. The loss of the automotive pioneer was recognized as a global event.

Meanwhile, reporters and crowds began flooding the Ford estate’s front gate. Security guards kept the gates tightly closed and kept the growing number of people back from private grounds.

The news of Ford’s death sparked a rush of tributes, telegrams, and quotes from high-ranking world officials, as well as competing industrialists, including those at General Motors and Chrysler, who issued statements acknowledging Ford’s revolutionary contributions, despite decades of intense competition.

“The death of Henry Ford removes from the American scene one of its truly great figures. He was one of the men who helped shape the 20th-century industrial era. His contributions to the nation were enormous, and the manifest evidence of his genius is on every road and highway in the land,” said President Harry Truman.

“Mr. Ford led a full, wonderful, and inspiring life,” said aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh, a friend and colleague. “It was a great privilege to have known and worked with him.”

The arrangements proceeded the following day as Clara went to the Wm. R. Hamilton Funeral Home. She selected a distinguished National Design F Cast Bronze Sarcophagus with a removable top/lid. In this final resting place, Mr. Ford’s remains, dressed in a dark business suit, were placed within the casket’s velvet-lined interior.

Henry Ford in his casket.

Clara was very involved in planning the funeral. Her grandson, Henry Ford II, announced that the body would lie in repose for two days at Lovett Hall, commonly referred to as Recreation Hall, Greenfield Village, beginning that Wednesday at 8 a.m. The funeral service would be held on Thursday, April 10.

The City of Detroit wasted no time preparing and hung a large picture of Henry Ford, surrounded by a black wreath, at Detroit City Hall. His picture was also prominently placed on 2,400 city buses and streetcars. All around the city, signs appeared mourning Henry Ford’s death. Dearborn Mayor Orville Hubbard proclaimed 30 days of mourning honors.

Early on Wednesday morning, the immense, bronze sarcophagus holding Ford’s remains was carefully transported from the funeral home to the Recreation Hall, where his lying-in-repose was slated to begin at 8 a.m.

The casket was positioned before an arched portal, which was covered by a heavy, sweeping drape. Large potted Lady Ferns were arranged against the cloth, creating a deep, verdant backdrop for the sarcophagus. The funeral directors then removed the lid of the sarcophagus, allowing viewers a final sight of Henry Ford.

The floral adornment was a study in serene elegance: a casket piece of ivory lilies and bright green leather-leaf ferns was set upon the inner foot-lid of the sarcophagus; from that singular arrangement, a lush cascade of Sprengeri ferns enveloped the casket bier beneath. This unbroken expanse of deep green created a striking and gentle illusion: that the massive bronze sarcophagus was not resting on a support, but was cradled, weightlessly, upon a soft, boundless bed of ferns.

The silence in the Recreation Hall was profound, broken only by the soft shuffle of the mourners’ feet and the occasional choked sob. The stanchions with velvet ropes were positioned in front of the sarcophagus.

As mourners reached the casket, any tears were perhaps not merely for a famous man, but for the end of an era – the close of the pioneering, inventive chapter of American enterprise that Ford had dominated.

An average of 5,000 people per hour passed the sarcophagus and people endured a line stretching over a mile.. The sheer magnitude of the public mourning transformed the event from a private family tragedy into a massive, national outpouring of grief and respect.

Many who passed were current or former Ford Motor Co. employees, their hands, once calloused from the assembly line, now clasped in front of them.

Later in the afternoon, Clara arrived at Recreation Hall, the simple, unpretentious building chosen for the viewing, and the hush that fell over the gathered mourners deepened. Dressed in solemn black, she walked with quiet dignity to the bier and stood motionless, her gaze fixed on her husband’s face. After a long moment – a silent farewell that encapsulated their life’s journey together – Clara turned away, composed yet visibly weighed down by grief, and was slowly escorted from the building to be driven back home.

The funeral service was held at 2:30 p.m. within the towering, stone walls of St. Paul’s Cathedral. This massive, neo-Gothic-style church, a landmark since its completion in 1910, dominates its corner of Woodward Avenue and Hancock Street. Its construction is a testament to historic craftsmanship; the cathedral was built on the cruciform plan, and the limestone was laid using medieval construction methods, with thick masonry and interlocking stones, without the use of steel frames. From the front, the impressive facade is anchored by two twin spires that soar into the sky, framing a large circular rose window just below, centered on the front wall above the entrance doors.

Inside, the sheer scale of the space was deepened by the dark oak furnishing: a massive partition, hand-carved in Germany, stood behind the altar, lectern, pulpit, and the bishop’s seat.

Out of respect, every Ford plant and dealership worldwide suspended business for the day of the funeral service. The rival auto plants closed for one hour. Every bus and streetcar in Detroit and Dearborn came to a halt, and all businesses were closed for the day.

Mourners began to gather at dusk in the cathedral courtyard, under low, dark gray clouds. The crowds were estimated at 20,000, requiring more than 200 police to manage the crowd and traffic.

The flow of floral tributes arriving had to be turned away and sent to the local hospital. Ford’s bronze sarcophagus, with a fresh floral casket blanket of white lilies intermingled with feather-leaf ferns, was placed at the front of the cathedral. Masses of additional white lilies and golden flower arrangements were assembled on the loft with red roses positioned to the right.

At 1:45 p.m., the door of the cathedral opened, and organ music bellowed from the pipes of an Austin four-manual organ. The many invited dignitaries, among them selected Ford executives and Ford’s personal staff, all made their way into the cathedral to be seated for the 2:30 p.m. private service.

Clara arrived by car and walked into the narthex of the cathedral. The day marked not only Ford’s funeral but also Clara’s 80th birthday and what would have been the couple’s 59th wedding anniversary. Making her way to the front wooden pew, she was joined by her son, Henry Ford II, and her daughter-in-law, Eleanor, her son, William Clay Ford, and her daughter, Josephine Clay Ford. Sitting in the second and third pews behind the family were 18 personal friends and the household staff.

Clara arrives in her Lincoln Limousine for the services.

The clergy and other cathedral personnel responsible for the funeral service can be largely identified through various 1947 records. The Diocese of Michigan was led by Rt. Rev. Richard S. Marriott, while Rev. George William Right served as the cathedral’s minister. Musically, the cathedral’s records name Ellis C. Varley and Robert H. Cato as organists and choirmasters, with June D. Jackson directing the girls’ choir.

The following is the order of service of Henry Ford’s standard Episcopal funeral service:

Saying Goodbye ~

As the notes of the final hymn, “Here the People Shall Rise and Sing” faded, the funeral service concluded. Outside, the streets were lined with a mass of silent onlookers held back by police.

The three ministers led the slow-moving recessional up the center aisle, through the narthex, and down the concrete steps. They positioned themselves near the heavy open back door of the hearse. Following behind them, the 10 pallbearers, carrying the sarcophagus, passed in front of the clergy and gently loaded the casket into a striking black Packard, a five-window, limousine-style, rear-loader hearse.

A Packard hearse was used.

A few steps behind her husband’s sarcophagus Clara descended the steps. A uniformed policeman at the bottom of the steps stood at attention. He saluted as Clara was escorted to her Lincoln, which was parked close to the front doors of the cathedral, to begin the slow, final journey to the Addison Ford Cemetery.

The Ride to the Cemetery ~

Addison Ford Cemetery is a small, private cemetery in Dearborn, located on the grounds of St. Martha’s, a church Clara had built in memory of her mother. The land, originally owned by Henry Ford’s great-grandfather, George Ford (1885-1927), is the final resting place for several Ford family members.

The final journey to the gravesite began with a stately funeral procession. Led by police motorcycles, the cortege included the hearse carrying Henry Ford and a convoy of 24 black sedans for the family and distinguished guests.

The funeral procession passes large crowds.

The funeral procession wound slowly through the streets of Detroit, heading toward Dearborn. The police motorcycles escorted the line of cars directly into the cemetery. As the hearse came to a stop, it pulled up beside a large, white tent erected over the gravesite, decorated with fresh, white lily arrangements. To maintain the sanctity of the private ceremony, police on horseback positioned themselves to manage the large crowds of mourners who had gathered to witness the industrialist’s final rites.

Ford was interred in a grave plot beside his beloved parents, William and Mary Litogot Ford. The burial was attended only by his immediate family members.

A mortsafe – a large, ornate steel cage historically erected over graves to prevent grave robbing, a common practice in earlier centuries – was installed. For absolute security, it was a unique, highly visible way to guarantee the remains of one of the world’s most famous industrialists would be undisturbed. Today, it still stands over the graves of Henry and Clara Ford.

The Ford graves.

Though his later years were marred by controversial social and political views, Henry Ford’s influence is undeniable. His commitment to efficiency, standardization, and mass production – often termed Fordism – set the global template for manufacturing. He didn’t just build cars; he built a system that accelerated the pace of life, reshaped urban and rural landscapes, and cemented the era of modern mobility. His legacy remains central to understanding the transition to the industrial age. KB

Bob Boetticher Sr. began his career in funeral service in Los Angeles in 1965. He is chairman of the National Museum of Funeral History in Houston.