Thomas F. Dufour

Born December 3, 1928 in La Salle, Ontario, Canada, Thomas was called to God's open arms on April 4, 2012. His parents, Irma Marie (Jolie) and Arthur Joseph Dufour, and brothers and sisters John, Mark, Gerald, Helen, Monica, and Sheilla enjoyed a happy and prosperous family life in Dearborn, Michigan as naturalized U.S. citizens and members of the Saint Alphonsus Catholic Parish. Tom was a graduate of Saint Alphonsus High School and an outstanding athlete in football, basketball, and baseball; going on to play basketball while attending the University of Detroit; and baseball at the professional, semi-professional, and amateur levels for several decades. Thereafter, while pursuing his career and early retirement, he maintained his association with Major League Baseball by scouting for the Saint Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees, including promising prospects and eventual MLB stars Bernie Carbo, Ted Simmons, and David Johnson Thomas followed his father into the printing trade and, after many years, rose to management and advertising sales where he enjoyed marketing fresh and exciting advertising copy and photographs to the Big Three Automakers headquartered in the Detroit area, especially when the presentation included box seats at Detroit Tigers games. One of his few complaints was the need to have the right brand of car to make sales calls to the different companies. Thomas' adult family life in Redford, Michigan included his sons James and David, their mother Jennie Dufour (Shakut), and happy times with his brothers, sisters, and parents for many years. The family was parishioners of Saint Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church, where the boys attended school until moving to Thurston High School and college. Tom and their mother's hard work and Christian values contributed greatly to the success that James and David have achieved in their professional and personal lives, including Tom's five healthy and promising grandchildren: Thomas and Daniel of Livonia, Michigan; and James, Frances, and Marie of Rancho Murieta, California. Thomas later married Sherron Dufour (Rakocgy), and was a loving stepfather to her children, Gina and Louis. After his retirement in 1996, Tom moved to the Sacramento, California area where both his sons now reside, living most of the time in Lincoln Hills and Rancho Murieta golfing communities. He particularly enjoyed the time God gave him in California, as he was able to frequently play golf, go on wine tasting excursions, and drive his mint condition vintage Corvette. Anyone who observed Tom racing around in his jet black Vette knew that this was no ordinary 84-year-old. His wide range of social activities included managing "Forever Dancing," a popular weekly gathering of young-at-hearts for many years. For 12 of these years, Tom worked with son James as a seminar arranger and "front man," which afforded him the opportunity to travel throughout the state and make many more friends who will miss him.