Nellie Ford was born Nellie Ann Sharp. She was the youngest of Vernor and Ora Sharp's seven children. She spent her early years in Weston, MO, but moved to Buffalo, NY around the age of eight, where she graduated from high school. Shortly thereafter, she married, moved to Denver, CO and started a family with Richard Brown. She had two sons, David and Robert. The marriage did not last, but Nellie continued to provide for her two sons as a single mother.

After her divorce, she had a successful career managing dental offices. During this time, she married her second husband, James Ford. During her first few years with James, Nellie abandoned her career in the dental field to do something more fulfilling. She became a certified massage therapist, and later, a yoga instructor. With James, she also founded the Mind Body Health Program and Yoga Institute at the Community College of Aurora and taught some classes there. She continued working as a massage therapist and teaching/practicing yoga nearly until her death. She also enjoyed painting, woodcarving, photography and writing. Her husband, James, passed away in 2023, and Nellie passed away on May 25, 2024 from cancer.

She will be remembered as a good wife, a good mother, a good friend, and a good person. She was a ray of sunshine to those around her, and she will be missed.

If you feel motivated to make a charitable donation in her honor, Nellie was a long time supporter of the Denver Dumb Friends League and the Denver Botanic Gardens .