Thomas J. Rushford

Born March 6, 1948, in Detroit, a son of Isaac and Catherine (Myers) Rushford, Tom’s family later moved to the Marquette area where he attended Marquette Senior High School. Following the death of his father, Tom left school and began working at Gannon Lumber Company to help support his family. He was drafted into the US Army, serving during the Vietnam Era as an artillery specialist. Following his honorable discharge, Tom returned to Marquette and was employed at Lakeshore, Inc. and CCI Timber Wood Products in Shingleton. In 1978, Tom began a 31 year career with Cleveland Cliffs Iron Company, starting at the Tilden Mine. During the times when there were strikes and layoffs, Tom returned to the classroom to fulfill a long held important goal of earning and receiving his GED. He continued to work at the Tilden and Empire Mines as a loader operator until he reluctantly retired due to health concerns in 2009. At the mine he was given the nickname “seeds” by his coworkers for his love of sunflower seeds. And, following retirement, Tom continued to meet his fellow retirees at Huron Mountain Bakery for their regular Friday coffee clutches, where “the world’s problems were solved, stories exchanged, and some matters tabled until the next get-together”. Tom was a jack-of-all trades and there wasn’t anything he couldn’t fix or repurpose. He was an avid rock hunter, enjoyed fishing, and found great pleasure in being in the woods, out in nature, and watching the wildlife that often frequented his yard.

Tom is survived by his wife of 39 years, Karla (Strughold) Rushford; son, Mark (Katrina) Rushford; a granddaughter, Kylie (Brian) Underwood; sister, Sherri (Ed) Lahti; sisters-in-law, Karen Strughold and Kathleen (Barry) Carter; several aunts and uncles.

He was preceded in death by his parents; and brothers-in-law, Bruce and Greg Strughold.

Private services are under the direction of the Fassbender Funeral Home. Please visit www. fassbenderfuneralhome.com to express your condolences online. Tom’s love of animals was very obvious to all and his family would like any memorials please go to UPAWS, P.O.Box 968, Marquette, MI 49855 in his name.