William Clay Ford Sr. (March 14, 1925 – March 9, 2014) was an American businessman who served on the boards of Ford Motor Company and the Edison Institute. Ford owned the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He was the youngest child of Edsel Ford and was the last surviving grandchild of Henry Ford. Early life and education Ford was born on March 14, 1925, in Detroit to Edsel Ford and Eleanor Lowthian Clay. He graduated from the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut, in 1943 and received a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Yale University in 1949; he was a member of the Psi Upsilon fraternity, captain of the soccer and tennis teams, an honorable mention all American selection in soccer senior year, and winner of seven varsity letters as a collegiate athlete. Ford also served in the U.S. Navy Air Corps during World War II. Personal life Following the war, Ford married Martha Parke Firestone, the granddaughter of Harvey Firestone and Idabelle Smith Firestone, on June 21, 1947, at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Akron, Ohio. William first met Martha at a lunch in New York City arranged and attended by both of their mothers, according to the biography The Fords. Martha then was a Vassar student who had the college nickname "Stoney." He was a naval cadet at St. Mary's U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School. By that time both families had acquired considerable wealth, and the matchup between the grandchildren of two empire-builders was reported by numerous news outlets. The Akron Beacon Journal called the Firestone-Ford nuptials "the biggest society wedding in Akron's history" and "the biggest show Akron has seen in years" in numerous articles chronicling the event. The couple received gifts from F.B.I. Director J. Edgar Hoover, media publisher John S. Knight, and Mina Miller Edison. The couple had four children: Martha Parke Morse (b. 1948), Sheila Firestone Ford Hamp (b. 1951), William Clay Ford Jr. (b. 1957), and Elizabeth Hudson Ford Kontulis (b. 1961). As of 2018, his son William was the Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ford Motor Company. He had previously been the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Ford. Their children Martha, Sheila, and William also serve as Vice Chairmen of the Detroit Lions, while Sheila was announced to take over as principal owner and chairwoman in June 2020. Professional career After graduating from Yale,