Thomas Raymond Cuffe, 77

Thomas Raymond Cuffe, 77, passed away June 6, 2018, at Kalispell Regional Medical Center in Kalispell, surrounded by his loving family.

Tom was born July 26, 1940, to Tom and Grace Cuffe in Eureka.

As the son of a crosscut timber feller, Tom’s youngest years included life in tents in lumberjack camps, but he lived most of his school years in a house on “Riverside” along Highway 93 in Eureka. At age 8, he had his first official job where he would meet the train to pick up his bundle of Great Falls Tribune newspapers to deliver around Eureka. Customers paid him a nickel each day, and he sent three cents to Great Falls with two cents dropped into the family cookie jar. He held a variety of other jobs, including thinning brush, bucking hay bales, Christmas tree work and sawmill jobs. At times the money went to help feed the family. Often he brought fish home for supper. Some of his savings went toward helping his mother purchase a home in Eureka before he finished high school.

Tom also played baseball and football. He was very near sighted and did not wear his glasses while playing football. He said that he always looked for the white leggings of the opponent’s uniforms and often laughed about the game when he ran down the field and tackled the referee. Some around Eureka still talk about that game.

During his senior year of high school, he began dating the love of his life, Nancy Carol Davis, whom he later married. This wonderful couple shared 60 years of unforgettable memories, raising five children with Christ as the foundation of the family. Tom always put his family first and took them on many camping and fishing adventures throughout Northwest Montana, including many special family trips to the Oregon Coast.

Tom was well known to have an unmatched work ethic. For 35 years he traversed the remote mountain roads of Western Montana hauling timber to sawmills, often with his self-loader. He always enjoyed the scenery of his beautiful state and the daily wildlife sightings from the windshield of his truck and had many stories from those days that he enjoyed telling (and retelling).

Tom was extremely unselfish and an ambassador for Christ. He routinely visited the “old folks” at nursing homes, hospitals, and at their own homes and would often “employ” his children to mow lawns or do maintenance for those who could not. He never shied away from helping others and typically chose the most difficult job, completing that task without complaint. Tom truly was a role model to his children and his peers and garnered the respect of all those who knew him. When Tom wasn’t visiting and helping others he could often be found reading and marking up his favorite book — the Bible.

Tom was preceded in death by his father and mother; his in-laws Rodney and Shirley Witt; his brother and sister-in-law Robert and Marilyn McKenzie; and his sister and brother-in-law Edna and Bill Gwynn.

He is survived by his wife, Carol Cuffe of Whitefish; brother, Hubert McKenzie (Bonnie), of Eureka; brother, Mike Cuffe (JoAn) of Eureka; sister, Becky Vredenberg of Eureka; daughter, Glenda Carr (Jim) of Whitefish, and grandchildren Lisa, Christopher and Nelica; daughter, Dina Roberts (Ryan) of Boise, Idaho, and grandchildren Becca (Pedro) and Sarah; daughter, Dana Oliver of Denver, and grandchildren Mandie, Josh and Jordie; son, Bob Cuffe (Julie), of Eureka, and grandchildren Johanna and Logan; daughter, Katie Mobley (Mark), of Wasilla, Alaska, and grandchildren Keaton, Hailey, Hudson, Connor and Peyton; numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and lifetime friends.

A favorite quote found in the front cover of his Bible reads as follows: “You are writing each day a letter to men, take care that the writing is true. For the only gospel some men will read is the gospel according to you.”

Services will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, June 11, at the First Baptist Church in Whitefish with lunch and fellowship immediately after. A graveside service will follow at 3 p.m. at the Tobacco Valley Cemetery in Eureka.