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T-Model Ford died at home in
Greenville of respiratory failure after a prolonged illness on Tuesday, July
16, 2013. Amos Harvey, formerly of
Fat Possum Records, stepped up to help cover the costs of the visitation at Redmond
Funeral Home on North Broadway Street in Greenville, and friends and admirers of
the blues musician held fundraisers at the Walnut Street Blues Bar in Greenville,
the North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic in Marshall County, and other
locations throughout the state. Gravel
Road, the blues singer’s former backing band, as well as Chris Johnson from
Bayport BBQ helped finish out the payment on the funeral costs. The funeral service was held at the
Washington County Convention Center on July 27. Musician and songwriter Robert Mortimer, Jr., of Mortimer
Funeral Homes, donated the burial plot and vault for the local blues singer in
the newly named “Legends” section of the burial ground. The grave marker was designed by Amos
Harvey and engraved by Alan Orlicek.