James D. Rutherford
October 12, 1947 – September 21, 2018
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, September 29, 2018 at 12:00 PM at the First Free Will Baptist Church of Comstock, with Pastor Dean Sanford officiating. The church is located at 630 Moline St., Kalamazoo, MI 49048. Memorials may be made to the First Free Will Baptist Church of Comstock, c/o the funeral home.
Obituary
Age 70, passed away at home on Friday, September 21, 2018, with family at his side. He was born in Bell County, Kentucky, on October 12, 1947, the son of the late Claude and Linda (Pitman) Rutherford. James was a kind and loving man. He loved his family and friends and had a strong faith. He was a dedicated member of the First Freewill Baptist Church in Comstock where he took great pride in planting and caring for the church flowers and landscape. He also had a passion for hunting, fishing and all things “outdoors.” Above all, James loved his family. He was especially proud of his children and grandchildren and leaves them with many wonderful memories to cherish. He was preceded in passing by his siblings, George Hensley, Fred Rutherford, Bertha Simpson-Harbin and Mary Johnson. He is survived by his former wife, Gertrude Rutherford; three children, Claude Rutherford, James David (Tasha) Rutherford II, Janet (Lee) Villarimo; three grandsons, Christopher and Zachary Villarimo and James David Rutherford III; eleven siblings, R.E., Noah, Ralph (Joy), J.C. (Debbie), Gary, Henry (Martha), Ommer (Linda) Rutherford, Ruby Houck, Loretta (Lester) Bingham, Lola (Donnie) Hickman, Charlene (Ron) Boger; many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
My loving and dear Brother. I don’t have to say I Love you because you know that. BUT I Love You!!! I don’t have to say there is a big empty spot here on earth that belonged to you. You know that. And we are not gonna say we will save your spot here because you are never gonna want it back. I will say I want you to save us a place near you up in Heaven. I know there is no sickness or pain up there. And you will never be tired again. But if there is tiredness you will be very tired tonight after greeting all your family and friends and hugging and laughing. May the Angel Wings of our loved ones produce a cool breeze, as they all gather around you with ease. May the joy of love fill the air. And have hugs for everyone to share. I know you have heard our mommy say “come home come home it’s supper time. The shadows lengthen fast. Come home come home it’s supper time. You’ve made it home at last”.. ?????????
My dear Loving Brother. Give everyone a big hug up there from all of us down here. ?
We r sorry for ur loss of a great person thoughts and prayers for the family
To all the Rutherford family, Dear Gert, We are truly sorry to hear of the loss of ( JD). Please accept our condolences and may our prayers help comfort you and hasten the journey of his soul to Heaven. May the Lord bless and comfort you and your family during this time of grief. Please accept our sincere condolences. JD, has been a friend of mine for many years, and he was there for any of us at Church when needed, He will surely be missed by all who knew him. I know he is in heaven now looking down on us, and he will be waiting for each one of us to meet up with him in Heaven. And I can just see him now tending to the flowers in heaven. He loved the outdoors, and will always remember our fishing trip to the St. Joe river and the covered bridge. May he rest in peace.
We love and are so thankful for our friend. Jd was such a blessing to our family and to our church fsmily. He is so greatly missed, but we thrill in thinking of JD’s complete healing as he is now with the Lord. What a hope we have in Christ as we will see JD again one day. Pastor Dean and Sister Ruth
I am so sorry to hear of James passing away. I am very thankful he was able to have his family by his side during this transition to heaven to be with the Lord. I am honored to have been able to have loved and cared for James. I am so very sorry that he has passed. I think about him often, and I am sure I always will. My prayers to all of you, Gert, and the rest of the family.