Ford worked tirelessly for Banner Creek Science Center

The Holton community is mourning the loss of a longtime educator who brought the stars closer to Jackson County.

Mike Ford, 69, who taught in the Holton school district for 22 years and was instrumental in the creation of the Banner Creek Science Center and Observatory west of Holton, died last Monday after a brief illness.

Ford’s work at the science center and observatory earned him national and international recognition, but he seemed most at home when he was sharing his love of the stars with his students and the young people who visited the observatory.

“The only reason I do the astronomy is because I love doing it,” Ford told The Holton Recorder in 2014 of his work at the observatory. “It’s for the students and the community. And we’ve had a lot of great things happen out here.”

Born July 20, 1954, in Shreveport, La., Ford knew he wanted to become an astronomer from an early age — among his inspirations were his grandmother giving him a telescope for Christmas one year and the 1969 moon landing taking place on his 15th birthday —  and he set out to become an astronomer after graduating from Seaman High School in 1972.

Instead, he went on to major in mass communications, graduating from Washburn University in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree in communication arts, and joined the Kansas Army National Guard, where he worked as a communications officer. He was also dating the former Karen Kline, and in August of 1980, the two were married.

Karen encouraged him to get into teaching, a suggestion seconded by Holton school board member Judy Norris, who was also in the teacher education section at Washburn. She evaluated Ford’s transcript and came to the conclusion that Ford could teach just about anything — and in 1986, he took a job teaching science and English at Holton Middle School.

During his time as a middle school teacher, he encouraged his students and their parents to get into astronomy. He hosted an “observing session” and invited students and parents to join him — with surprising results.

“I thought I might have 15 — maybe 20 — show up,” he told The Recorder of that first session. “I had more than 100.”

In 1992, Ford made the jump to teaching high school classes, continuing his “observing sessions” and getting more people interested in the stars while teaching students about television production. Then, in 2000, he earned a master of science degree in earth and space science from Mississippi State University.

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