James David "Jim" Ford ( – 2001) was an American

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

man, most known for being the youngest chaplain of a US military academy and as the Chaplain of the US House of Representatives. While Chaplain of the House, he was the first-full time chaplain, second

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

to hold the role, and second-longest ever serving.

Early life

James Anderson was born in

Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls ( ) is the List of cities in South Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the List of United States cities by population, 117th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha Coun ...

, and primarily grew up in

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. Due to the commonality of the name 'Anderson,' James gave himself the last name of 'Ford' as the

car brand This is an incomplete list of every brand (also known as make or marque) of car ever produced, by country of origin, which has an article on Wikipedia. Names should not be added unless they already have an article. Some are from manufacturing c ...

was an American icon. He graduated from

Gustavus Adolphus College Gustavus Adolphus College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in St. Peter, Minnesota, United States. It was founded in 1862 by Swedish Americans led by Eric Norelius and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Gustavu ...

and received a doctorate in divinity from

Wagner College Wagner College is a private university in Staten Island, New York. It was established in 1883 and, as of the 2023–2024 academic year, it enrolled approximately 1,932 students, including 1,592 undergraduates and 340 graduates. Its theatre prog ...

before his ordination as a Lutheran pastor in 1957. Between 1958 and 1961, Ford was a

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

of Ivanhoe, Minnesota. In 1961, he moved to work at the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

, and was appointed as the academy's

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

in 1965. Assuming the title at the age of 33, he is the youngest person to have held the role.

House of Representatives

On 15 January 1979, Ford was appointed to be the 58th Chaplain of the United States House of Representatives. He was the first person of the title to serve full time, as all previous House Chaplains were either retired or held other pastorates. In addition, he was the first and only Lutheran to hold the title. Although the position of House Chaplain is voted on by the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

every two year, Ford became the second-longest serving person to hold the role. He credited his long term to his good standing with the representatives, even when cost-cutting measures threatened to make the chaplain a voluntary position. Ford triggered a political controversy when he retired in 2000, forcing a long debate in the House of Representatives regarding who his successor would be. Eventually, the

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Daniel Coughlin was chosen as his successor.

Personal life

On 27 August 2001, he committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

on his boat while moored at a

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : "related to the sea") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo ...

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

. The District of Columbia

medical examiner The medical examiner is an appointed official in some American jurisdictions who is trained in pathology and investigates deaths that occur under unusual or suspicious circumstances, to perform post-mortem examinations, and in some jurisdicti ...

listed cause of death as a

self-inflicted gunshot wound A suicide method is any means by which a person may choose to end their life. Suicide attempts do not always result in death, and a non-fatal suicide attempt can leave the person with serious physical injuries, long-term health problems, or ...

. He was 70 years old at death.

References

External links

C-Span
(archive
here
- Collection of videos depicting Ford during official and unofficial duties {{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, James D. 21st-century Lutherans Chaplains of the United States House of Representatives 1930 births 2001 deaths Suicides by firearm in Washington, D.C. American Christian religious leaders 2001 suicides