Mary Ford - Early Life

Early Life

Mary Ford was born Iris Colleen Summers in El Monte, California, the second daughter of Marshall McKinley Summers (born February 13, 1896 in Ridgway, Illinois; died August 5, 1981 in Los Angeles, California), a Nazarene minister, who later became a painting contractor, and his wife, Dorothy May White Summers (born April 5, 1897 in Missouri; died February 22, 1988 in South El Monte, California), and was the sister of Byron Fletcher Summers (born December 25, 1918 in Missouri; died April 2, 1994), Esther Eva Summers Wootten (born 1922 in Los Angeles, California), and Bruce Wendell Summers (born February 22, 1929 in California; died November 15, 2007). Ford came from a musical family, and her parents left Missouri, traveling cross-country while singing gospel music and preaching at revival meetings across the United States. They eventually settled in Southern California, where they were heard over KPPC-AM, Pasadena's first Christian radio station. Her sisters and brothers were all musicians; Esther, Carol, Fletcher, jazz organist Bruce and film composer Bob Summers.

While still a junior high school student, Summers and Mildred L. "Milly" Watson (later Millie Pace) (born February 26, 1922 in Los Angeles, California; died August 2, 1976 in Orange County, California), a local girl, performed together in churches in Pasadena, California, and later made religious recordings with Milly's older brother, Marvin, for which she wrote some songs. In 1939 Summers and Milly won a Pasadena talent contest judged by "several Hollywood notables, including a very young Judy Garland." Hoping to have a musical career, Summers and Milly Watson, lost interest in school, played truant frequently, and eventually quit school, only to find employment as a cinema attendant.

In 1941, Summers had two brief marriages. After a brief romance, Summers eloped with David Marvin "Dave" Palmquist (born December 11, 1921 in Utah), whom she married in Yuma, Arizona, but it was soon annulled by Summers after her return to Glendale, California to Palmquist's consternation. Soon after, Summers married Marvin Chester Watson (born May 29, 1919 in San Antonio, Texas; died July 25, 1977 in Whittier, California).