GOUVERNEUR — Ford Reynolds, a 94-year-old man from Gouverneur, has had such an inspiring life that his son-in-law decided to write a book about it, “The Faith of A Farmer: The Story of Ford Reynolds.”
The 154-page book is a biography of Mr. Reynolds’ life told through stories written by his son-in-law, Derek Levendusky.
The book tells the story of a beloved farmer turned preacher from Northern New York who found Christ and then found great faith. It follows the timeline of his life from his youth on a farm to his 50s when he began ministry.
“I interviewed him 10 years ago and captured his story,” Mr. Levendusky said. “It’s really written for either a Christian church audience or someone interested in investigating their faith or just anyone interested in a story from Northern New York.”
After years of hearing Mr. Reynolds’ stories, Mr. Levendusky decided to preserve the stories for generations to come.
“I was deeply motivated to capture his story for my children and my children’s children,” he said. “(Methodist theologian) John Wesley said ‘publish or perish.’ In other words, if you don’t capture the stories of this generation they’ll disappear for the next generation. I was really motivated by that because he and my mother-in-law have had exceptional lives.”
The book highlights Mr. Reynolds’ 94 years in the region as well as his journey with his faith.
“It really captures his childhood years and he’s 94 years old so we’re talking pre-World War II years,” Mr. Levendusky said. “He was born in the same house that he lives in now. He’s true, pure north country. He’s a real pillar in St. Lawrence County with a good reputation. His story is the story of God using him to really affect a lot of people with his faith.”
For most of his life, Mr. Reynolds worked as a farmer, but after retiring, he opened a new church in his community.
“When he was 67 after retiring from farming, he decided to start a new church in Richville,” Mr. Levendusky said. “He’s 94 now and has lived a full life but he’s done a lot of good for other people.”
Mr. Levendusky’s biography also captures the romance between Mr. Reynolds and his wife.
“I really like the part of the story where he meets my now mother-in-law,” Mr. Levendusky said. “In a world where it’s such a complex thing now, just to see the simplicity of their young romance and how that led to his faith is really endearing.”
After a decade of working on the book, Mr. Levendusky published it in November.
“My work in different worlds has made this a side project for a long time so it took way longer than I wanted it to,” Mr. Levendusky said. “It went through five different revisions but because it took so long, I was able to include people in his life I may not have been able to if I got it out sooner.”
Mr. Levendusky and his wife will be signing copies of the book on Saturday at the Richville Library from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.. The book can be found on Amazon and a limited amount of copies will also be for sale at the signing.
“I think we live in a culture that’s very spiritual and I think a lot of people are searching,” Mr. Levendusky said. “I think this book can answer some of those questions for people that are looking for answers. I think his life tells that story because he was looking for answers and it tells a beautiful story of how he found that.”
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