Dion Lamarr Ford, Jr. was born October 14, 2000 in St. Paul, Minnesota to Danita King. His father, Dion Lamarr Ford Sr., died before he was born. Dion was shot and killed on March 31, 2022; he was 21 years old. Dion is survived by his mother, three sisters, lots of cousins, aunts, an uncle and a grandmother. His grandmother Alita died in December 2021. Dion went to school at Benjamin Mays Elementary School, Ramsey Middle School and graduated from Central High School in 2019. Dion always had a lot of energy, but fortunately had even more charisma. Dion knew everyone and everyone knew him, he charmed his teachers and his coaches and everyone he met. If you met Dion, you never forgot him. He had a smile and upbeat attitude that could light up a room. He was loyal to his family and his friends. At a young age he started playing football in St. Paul Park and Rec teams and soon was recognized as an amazing athlete. He didn’t start playing basketball until later but excelled at basketball as he could run faster and jump higher than anyone. At Central High School he broke the rushing record for football and scored 1,000 points in basketball, he lettered several times and enjoyed going to the store to get more patches added to his letter jacket. Dion attended a couple of junior colleges on basketball scholarships before starting at Augsburg University in January 2022. Dion was at Augsburg on an academic scholarship and was really enjoying his classes, he had realized that he wasn’t just a good athlete he was also a good student. He had lined up a paid summer internship and was committed to graduating with a bachelor’s degree. Dion got his driver’s permit in March and was scheduled to take his road test in June. Dion was making it, he mattered to so many people and his death is felt deeply by his family, friends and community. The Dion Ford Athletic Scholarship Fund has been started to help athletes at Central High School, to donate https://gofund.me/ed19ff12 Funeral Services: Monday April 11, 2022 at Progressive Baptist Church at 1505 Burns Ave., St. Paul, MN, 55106. Visitation at 11 am, Service at noon, Burial at Elmhurst Cemetery, Repast at Oxford Community Center 270 Lexington Pkwy N. St. Paul 4 – 6 pm To plant Memorial Trees in memory of Dion Lamaar Ford Jr., please click here to visit our Sympathy Store.